My crochet Rainbow Heart blanket is growing steadily. I’ve finished a row of each of the colours that I bought for this and started repeating the colour pattern. I’m still loving the heart pattern as the I switch to white between each colour. You can find the link to the pattern in my previous post here.
But I’m having a tiny problem as I work on this one: the yarn has a tendency to split. You might be able to see it in the picture on some of the long spike type stitches – that’s where it is most noticeable I think.
Often as I crochet a stitch I notice the hook splitting the yarn and I need to undo the stitch and try again. Sometimes I need to try a couple of times to get a stitch without the split yarn!
So I’ve done some research and here’s what I found:
Tips for Splitting Yarn while Crocheting
- Try working slower – When we hurry we are more likely to push our hook through the yarn instead of pushing through a hole or loop. So trying to work slower can help.
- Try a larger hook – Smaller hooks are generally more pointy so they are more likely to split the yarn. A slightly larger hook can be blunter and less likely to push through the yarn accidentally.
- Try a different brand of hook – Different brands of hook can have slightly different shapes to the ends – some may be sharper or blunter or curved differently – so some crocheters find one brand better than another.
- Softer yarns generally split more – Writers seem to suggest that softer yarns split more than coarser yarns. Perhaps they have a less tight weave in order to be softer. (I wonder whether some yarns are treated in the manufacture process to hold their twist better and that makes them harder? Just my random thought as I write – must try to find out!)
- Thicker yarns might split more – Along the same thinking as softer yarns splitting, I have found that sometimes my thicker yarns split more, although not always. Sometimes they seem to have more strands twisted together than finer yarns. (This blanket uses a particularly thick yarn.)
- Yarns often twist as we work – This is a natural part of the way we hold our yarn as we work and the direction we twist it with each stitch so be aware and if you are finding your yarn either tangling (from twisting tighter) or unravelling (from twisting looser), then stop every now and again to fix it.
- Some writers suggested that working from one end of the yarn or the other would make a difference, but other’s said that wasn’t true because the yarn twists the same way no matter which end you start at. Apparently there are S twists or Z twists – basically clockwise or anti-clockwise. Most yarn is S twist apparently. But either could be un-twisted as you work depending on your personal way of working with the yarn.
Do you have any more tips for dealing with yarn splitting as you crochet?
More Crochet Projects to Try
I love this blanket, a good set of rainbow never seems to fail when it comes to crochet. Especially backed with white. Can’t wait to see the finished product.
I love the colors you choose for your blanket, and adding the white between the colors really makes them pop. I’m glad someone else gets annoyed by yarn splitting. I have crochet hooks that are blunt and pointing, and personally I don’t find it makes a difference, which leads me to believe that it is the spinning process.
For some reason, black colored yarn always wants to split on me! When I find that my yarn is splitting, I’ll start working a bit more deliberately on the problem stitches by inserting my hook, then pulling up on the hook a little bit to make sure I have all the plies together before completing the stitch. Or, I’ll pull up a little bit on the actual stitch first, before inserting my hook, to “loosen” it away and make the hole more obvious. Also, I’m a “pen holder” rather than an “overhand holder,” so I have some free fingers to help me along as I go.
Very pretty! Love all the colors. Stopping by from Sundays Down Under link up.
Thanks so much for sharing your crochet post at the #sundaysdownunder linky party, Tonya! I really appreciate you and your support! I’ve pinned your post too.
Take care and best wishes,
Natasha in Oz
I am learning to spin. Yarn has to have certain qualities based on the fiber used, and how many plies it has. The amount of twist in the yarn determines if it will stay together, but also factors in how fluffy the yarn will be (picture the thread used in the skeins that specify they are for crochet, that make doilies and such, verses the yarn that is soft and springy and warm). A thick ply can’t be twisted as tightly as a thin one (long reason why) and when yarns are plied together the process causes them to lose some of the tight twist, even if we try to put a little more into the fibers that are meant to be plied they can only hold so much without knotting and making a mess.
A yarn that is looser and thicker traps more air to trap your body heat. A tightly woven yarn doesn’t feel as nice on the skin (twist anything as tight as a rope and you loose the fluffiness).
So, in other words, the factors that allow people to spin wonderful yarns can lead to splitting issues under the best circumstances. Some companies, or their individual machines for spinning, or people spinning on a wheel or with a drop spindle will make something that is slightly better for one application over another (the spinning wheel gives the user less control over twist per inch than a drop spindle because the size of the wheel etc can’t be adjusted and is better for some fibers than others based on the length of their strands, such as the differences between a breed of sheep’s fleece and cotton whorls) but it’s hard to get certain characteristics without having spots for a needle or hook to slip into
Wow!Thanks for all the info, Jennifer – so interesting to hear about the differences in machines and spinning. Is it hard? It looks tricky.
My 4 ply yarn, is splitting, you can identify each ply, while crocheting. Ten minutes job turning over an hour. I am crocheting a jacket, just trying to start, the 4 ply yarn is giving me a lot of headache.
The yarn I am using is Yarn Bee, Soft secret
It is soft and has a some sheen, I like it a lot, but I cannot stand the splitting. Consistently, every stitch splitting. I changed the crochet hook several times, but nothing helped. HELP.