Crochet Styles and Tension

Hi everyone,

Today I am talking about the different styles of stitches and yarn and how they differ. 

I used a 5mm H/8 crochet hook and an acrylic yarn and pure wool yarn - 100% good Australian wool. . . . .

I have always crocheted into the front (that is, the part facing me), of the stitch. Lately, I have been seeing that a lot of other people  crochet into the both loops of the stitch. I decided to check this all out and see what I really preferred. 

This is the way I have always crocheted - into the front of the loop. It is the highest part of the stitch facing you. This is using acrylic yarn.

Style Number 1 in Acrylic Yarn

Now here is the same yarn and the same hook crocheting into both loops on the hook. 

Style Number 2 in Acrylic Yarn

Notice all the spaces that appear?
Here is a close-up comparison for you. 

 See how each stitch stands up straight in the first and slopes to the side in each row in the second?

Tension

So I measured the number of stitches and rows in a 4" x 4" or 10cm x 10cm area. 

My favourite stitch gave 16 stitches and 7 rows. 

Working into both loops of the stitch, the second photo, gave 13 stitches and 8 rows.

Australian Wool

I tried the same out using 8 ply wool in my favourite stitch, working only into the top part of the loop. It gave me16 1/2 stitches and 7 rows. 

Style Number 1 in Wool

Yes, I have decided that I came to the right conclusion many years ago. I prefer to work into only the front loop of the stitch, NOT both loops. 

I have noticed that working into both loops of the stitch gives a much looser fabric that has little stretch.

Working into the front loop of the fabric gives a closer stitch, and a fabric that has some spring in it. 

In this next photo you can see both loops of the stitch made when you crochet. When I turn my work to crochet the next row, I insert my hook into the top loop only. 

Here you can see the two rows. The green row has been worked from left to right. The tan colour shows the working of the next row. The top bump of the stitch you can see id the one I will work into in the next row.

Happy crocheting. 

You might like to read some of my other articles about crochet.

http://windowlane.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Crochet


Follow me on instagram for more crochet photos @tossyv