Yarn threads unraveling

[Rae_Regenbogen]

Hi all,

I have a strange problem with my current crochet project. While crocheting, my yarn began to twist and unravel as I worked. I've tried re-twisting it together and twirling it around my finger to keep the strings held tightly together, but this only results in the yarn becoming more unraveled lower down.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Normally, I'm a knitter, and I've never had this problem on a knitting project. This seems to always happen when I crochet though. The yarn I'm using for my current project is slowly but surely becoming impossible to work with.

Does anyone have suggestions for me?

Thanks,
Rae

[Alexus1325]

I think I read somewhere that by being twisted in a certain direction, a yarn is better for either knitting or crochet (assuming right-handedness). *shrug* No idea about the veracity of that statement, but it had to do with learning to spin your own yarn for a specific project in order to give the yarn certain qualities to maximize the awesomeness of said project (or something...).

I've had a couple yarns do the twisty dance on me while knitting, but that was due to the way it was balled up. The yarn had been untwisted by being balled in the wrong orientation. I had to un-ball it and re-ball it the opposite way, or if it was a big ball I would unwind a bunch, use a knitting needle to hold the yarn in place on the ball, stand up and spin it tight again. I almost never ball my yarn, I get it that way from the thrift store.

I don't recall it ever happening with a crochet project, but it could be the same issue.

[LadybugsAndBumblebees]

I've noticed the yarns unraveling a lot more now than I have in the past.  It seems to be mostly with the "softer" yarns, but happens with the acrylics as well.  I have no solution for you, unfortunately.

[Eamea]

Luckily I've never had this happen.  I wonder if you started from the other end of the yarn if it would unravel as much?  I have no idea if this would actually work, but it's all I can think of.

[Rae_Regenbogen]

I am using acrylic yarn, and quite honestly, I hope it's just a strange yarn issue. This is because I'm not sure I have enough sanity left to unball the yarn and roll it again. My most hated part of crocheting and knitting is balling yarn! However, the idea that I could be crocheting from the wrong end of the yarn is absolutely an interesting idea, and it does seem to make sense. I crochet strangely; I insert my hook in from the back of the stitch instead of from the front of the stitch (as if I'm purling in knitting). Some crafty friends of mine keep trying to help me fix my crocheting method, but for some reason, anytime I insert the hook into the front of the stitch, my pattern comes out with the wrong side facing me. So the idea that this is causing my yarn to act as if it's spun "backwards" does make sense.

Maybe once I've completed this section of my project, I'll see what can be done about both my crocheting style and my yarn issues.

Until then, I'll just try to hang onto the small shred of sanity I have remaining!

Thanks for the help, fellow craftsters!

[KerrAvonsen]

You are not alone! I have run into this problem too. I think it has to do with the combinbation of:
1. The particular yarn
2. The direction of the twist of the yarn.
3. The direction of one's crochet stitch.

I'm left-handed, and I've found that some types of crochet yarn become un-twisted when I crochet with them left-handed. I have two methods of dealing with this:

a) twist the yarn with my hand just before I do a stitch, to counter the un-twisting before it happens
b) do the crochet right-handed

Either of these are annoying to have to do, though.

[Hooks4love]

I have noticed that when I pull yarn from the inside of the skein that it tends to unravel, so I always work with the exposed end of the yarn and unwind it as I go.