Technical Difficulties: Tension Squares

Posted by applefluff on January 10, 2013 · 1 Comment 

How’s this for an idea (repeat after me) …

I pledge that from this point forward, I will always knit or crochet a full and complete tension square. I will do this because, tension is IMPORTANT.

One of the main reasons (outside of ‘no time’) why my knit list of 2012 wasn’t fulfilled came down to incorrect tension. Those who had the opportunity to see my Turmeric nearly finished might remember that when I tried it on {sans sleeves} it was too small. And why was it too small? Because my tension square consisted of 5 rows of curled up stocking stitch still on the needles scarcely measured. What a freaking waste of time that 3 weeks of knitting was?! It was completely demoralising getting so far and yet not being able to enjoy the result based on my ‘certain‘ knowledge that I knew my tension would be fine. So I ditched the sweater and pouted for about 2 months (that’s nearly 3 months of wasted knitting time all because I couldn’t be bothered with a tension square). A waste I tell you, a bloody waste.

My next 2012 tension disaster (because I did not learn from the first) came in the form of a gorgeous little Fibi Fox whose stuffing is slowly oozing out of his not tight enough double crochet body. I thought he looked ‘ok’ until I saw the cutest little Fibi creature whose stuffing was no where to be seen – again a proper test of yarn/hook/tension would have resulted in a fabulous finished fox. After that I pretty much gave up … I was lucky with my Summer Sunshine, I made an educated guess and came up trumps. Sorry folks, but it’s true – tension really is important.

Here is ‘my top 5 things you should know about tension’ based on reading & experience.

If you aren’t sure about how to knit a tension square, how to measure it, or adjust your knitting to get correct tension, tune in tomorrow & I’ll share my 10-step tutorial, until then … repeat after me …

Filed under Crocheting, Knitting, Tips and Techniques · Tagged with technical, tension