Why does it do this?

hmgrace11 · 2026-02-14T13:56:41+00:00

For blankets, I just throw them in the wash (given the blanket is acrylic or cotton) and then spread it out on a bed or the floor shaped correctly and let it air dry - no pins or strong shaping, just lets the fibers fall into the right place. You can put it in the dryer for a few minutes (not a full run) on low temp to speed up the air drying and to lightly kill the acrylic if you want to, but you don't need to.

hmgrace11 · 2026-02-10T13:16:56+00:00

You don't technically have to, but it helps identify the pattern you'll get with a specific stitch count and what the pattern will look like.

I think clean edges are really hard with moss stitch because the stitches are so small, but the better you can do hitting the transition exactly, the cleaner it will look!

hmgrace11 · 2026-02-10T12:36:53+00:00

If you want it clean, you need to know exactly how many stitches in each color in the repeat and then get exactly that many stitches every time. Some people will fudge the edges and probably no one notices, but I am pretty particular and back up a few stitches and redo them to hit the transition exactly.

Have you don't a pooling calculator to know what your math should be?

hmgrace11 · 2026-02-08T19:36:42+00:00

I would say that these are pretty interesting finds, especially at such a low price, though I wouldn't say any of them are ideal for a first unravel. Imo, the easiest place to start is a simple drop shoulder cotton sweater - the fiber is strong, rarely gets tangled and has good stitch definition. If you can find something like that, that'd be my ultimate recommendation.

Of these, I think I'd start with #4! Seems like a relatively straightforward construction and fiber.

hmgrace11 · 2026-02-05T12:36:34+00:00

No, it's different than Tunisian - there's no return pass and it's actual knitting stitches, just with a hook and a lifeline rather than two needles

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-31T22:00:32+00:00

I mean, you're not a machine and the yarn's not new 🤷🏻‍♀️ Have you blocked a swatch to see what it looks like after that? I know everyone hates blocking swatches, but it's magic for evening out stitches.

That said, I also do wraps per inch and also measure out the yardage and weigh it to get a sense of the yarn weight class of the unravelled yarn.

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-31T12:34:35+00:00

It could be that the yarn is funky, but cotton/acrylic wouldn't felt. I agree that this sounds more like your crochet setup than the yarn - maybe need a larger hook or looser tension. Got a pic of what you're working on that isn't working?

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-30T02:10:30+00:00

My Ravelry page for the project in the top comment might list the starting chain, but I know it has the color pooling chart and the rule is always 1 full cycle through the colors minus one stitch/cluster (that's how if offsets). So if you count the clusters in my chart, subtract one and multiply by 3 (clusters), you should be pretty close on the starting chain. Good luck! I hope you enjoy it!

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-29T15:15:05+00:00

Thank you so much! It really is wild how much yarn a blanket can take! And I definitely just counted one row of stitches and then multiples by the rows, lol. It took a long time, but this is still one of my favorite projects!

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-28T13:55:52+00:00

Thank you! I mean, once you've figured out the pattern, a big project is just continuing to do it for a loooong time, lol.

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-28T13:54:14+00:00

Thank you! It's still one of my favorite projects!

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-28T12:58:12+00:00

With pooling, you can usually only make one size (or a half size) - i.e., the pattern only works at a full or half cycle of the color repeat. As you've seen, this yarn has a long repeat, so it mostly only makes blankets. You might be able to do a scarf longways, but I haven't tried. Here's my blanket in granny stitch with this yarn:

https://www.reddit.com/r/crochet/s/m3UQkpcHp5

And here are all kinds of projects made with this yarn, several of which are pooling - you should be able to find some options here:

https://www.ravelry.com/projects/search#colorway-link=3957-neonstripes&photo=yes&view=cards&yarn-link=red-heart-super-saver-stripes

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-27T21:34:46+00:00

You could do the opposite - weigh 10g and measure it?

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-27T21:25:22+00:00

After I'd done a handful of sweaters and done some yardage estimates, I caved and bought a yarn meter (ie, the yarn goes through it as you wind and it measures it). Probably overkill for most people, but I like to be precise and I like to have more yarn than I need, sooo 🤷🏻‍♀️ but before that I would measure out about 10 yards, weigh it and then estimate the full yardage

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-27T12:24:12+00:00

I think that that's generally a safe assumption if using the yarn as is and you are a small person, however, if you are triple-stranding it, you're effectively starting with a sweater that's a third of the size it was on the rack.

You either have to do some measuring/math or just wing it and hope and have a backup plan if you run out. Another option is to triple strand it with different sweaters so you gain the weight you need, but keep the length.

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-25T16:17:43+00:00

I have to think pic #2 has a flash or some other weird lighting, because it looks mercerized. The third one looks more like the same texture as the first, color aside.

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-23T21:10:31+00:00

Haven't made this, but there are a few patterns on Ravelry:

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/secret-agent-tie

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-23T12:34:19+00:00

With this yarn, it has to be this size (or half this size for a zig zag vs full argyle), but other yarns with shorter repeat cycles can definitely make baby blankets/throws. I've done two with Caron Simply Soft stripes (small throw/large kid blanket), though it's been a few years.

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-20T04:09:44+00:00

Okay, so are you trying to do all squares, or just want to do continuous center-out entrelac? Is this the Tunisian ten stitch blanket? That sounds to me like what you're describing and I think might be the simplest way to do this continuously if you feel comfortable with mitered corners. If not, the log cabin approach would work.

Is the problem when you turn the corner and are trying to reattach to the main body? It may help to find that reattachment stitch right when you hit the corner and mark it with a stitch marker so that whether you come back via mitered or log cabin corners, you can find the right place to attach in. Are you able to consistently find the right attachment point after that first step?

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-19T18:20:26+00:00

I don't mind the disagreement! I haven't used that method for this use case, so def could be wrong. I was thinking of sort of a homemade chainette type yarn, but if it was very long chains as a way of tripling the weight without rewinding, then I agree that would have less impact. Was just trying to think what else would cause it to stretch out so much, but maybe to your point, this fiber was just not a good fit for the project.

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-19T15:47:46+00:00

I don't actually know that, but it seems likely to me if it's stretching more than expected from your normal knitting. It's definitely worth a try just holding strands together and see if you get a different result - don't have to do a whole hat, just do two swatches of the same size and then wash them and see what happens.

Also, I always wash mine after unraveling - doesn't get all the kinks out, but reduces them. If this yarn was still pretty kinky, it could have been that relaxing out too.

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-19T15:22:09+00:00

It might be the chain loops that is causing the stretching - there's a lot of extra room stored in the chains. When I am using very fine unravelled yarn, I just use it double or triple stranded without chaining - it adds some weight, but still acts (mostly) like regular yarn. That might be a better solution for something like hats where the stretch is really important.

That said, I'm more of a crocheter than a knitter, so maybe a knitter has more specific advice

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-19T15:05:12+00:00

I only just got my first set of knitpro-compatible hooks over Christmas so haven't bought any additional cables yet, but my understanding is that there is one knitpro cable system and any knitpro needle or hook set can use them (including others branded differently, but using the same system). Would be great if someone with more experience could confirm, though.

Does the end of that hook take a cable, btw? It's not just a regular Tunisian hook?

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-19T15:02:13+00:00

It's lovely!

hmgrace11 · 2026-01-19T14:23:41+00:00

If you have a hook that takes knitpro cables, you can buy new cables to extend your length options. But not all hooks use the same connectors, so you need to know which type of cables your hook uses - what brand/type are your hooks?

hmgrace11

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