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Question: This month’s question comes from Rebecca E. who writes: Hi. Bought the Sidar Jewelspun yarn to make the Painters Garden Blanket. I am making my gauge squares and find that the yarn twist and twist making it hard to work with, for me. Do you have some suggestions to prevent the twisting. Answer: This is a great question, and one that we’ll all probably encounter at one point or another. The reasons can vary between individual crocheters, as well as between different yarns. It all comes down to the way the yarn is twisted and plied during manufacturing, as well as the particular motions you make when you crochet. To understand why your yarn is twisting out of control, let’s first take a look at what gives yarn its twist in the first place. All yarn has some inherent twist, which is established during the spinning process. Spinning, or twisting the fibers together, gives the yarn its strength, stretch, and texture. The amount or tightness of the twist that is added to the yarn at this stage can affect the way that it behaves when you work with it. After spinning, most yarns are then twisted again when they’re plied together with one or more other spun yarns. To keep the final product balanced, the individual strands are usually twisted in one direction when spun, and then twisted in the opposite direction when combined with other strands during the plying process. Some yarns are listed as single ply, meaning that there is only one twisted strand to the yarn. Without the extra strand(s) to lean on or counterbalance it, single-plied yarn, especially if it has been spun very tightly, has a tendency to twist up on itself while crocheting. Another factor that can lead to the dreaded twisting problem is the direction that the yarn is twisted when spun. Take a closer look at a strand of yarn and you will notice that all of the fibers or plies will slant in one direction. When holding a yarn strand vertically, if the twist appears to go from bottom right to top left (\), it's an S twist; if it goes from bottom left to top right (/), it's a Z twist. Typically the original spin produces a Z twist. The plying process reverses this, so you will see that most commercially made plied yarns have a final S twist. Crocheting (right-handed) usually causes a Z-spun, S-plied yarn to untwist a little, while crocheting will add more twist to an S-spun, Z-plied yarn. Though it makes sense that no twist is actually added to a yarn when it’s wound by the manufacturer (since it’s wound around a core and not twisted onto it), I still think that a yarn’s put-up can affect the amount of twist you might experience when working with it. There are five ways yarn is commonly available—skein, ball, hank, cone, and cake. I find that cones, cakes, and skeins cause the most trouble with twisting. If the twist isn’t coming from the way it is wound at the factory, maybe it’s how the user works the yarn from the skein, ball, or cake that matters. Either way, the put-up does seem to matter, and in a moment, I’ll share some ways that we can resolve twisting issues with all of these. Did you know that you, the crocheter, might also be adding some level of additional twist to your yarn as you’re crocheting? How you hold your hook, how you control tension, and the motion you use to grab the yarn with your hook, can either add or subtract twist. An ounce of prevention: Whenever you find that you’re having trouble with a yarn twisting back on itself while you’re crocheting, take a moment to look closely at the yarn’s construction. Is the yarn single ply? Is the final twist an S twist or a Z twist? Does it appear to have been spun very tightly? What is the put-up? Make note of these things for future reference so that you can look for these characteristics and carefully consider them when you purchase yarn for your next project. But what if you’re dealing with a twisting yarn right now? Here are some tips that have helped me in the past. I hope they will help you too! 1. Try using the yarn from the opposite end of the skein or cake. If you normally pull from the center, try using the outside end instead, or vice versa. This way, you might be able to cancel out the effects of any twist put into the yarn when it was made and wound. 2. Along those same lines, if you’re working from the outside of the skein, try changing the direction from which you are pulling the yarn off the skein. If, as you’re working, the yarn is coming off the skein in a clockwise direction, turn the skein around so that it’s coming off in a counterclockwise direction. Here’s an interesting blog post by Doris Chan that further explains this idea. 3. You could also try rewinding the ball/skein/cake, either with a swift and ball winder or by hand. 4. Adjust the way you hold your hook. For some crocheters, switching from pencil-hold to knife-hold, or vice versa, can reduce the amount of twisting involved in each stitch. 5. Try loosening up your tension a little bit, which may relieve some of the twist caused by the stitching process. 6. Put the yarn on a spindle-style yarn holder so that the skein, cake, or cone rotates as you work, continually feeding in the direction that it was originally wound. I’ve seen quite a few of these on the market in recent years, but I haven’t actually tried one yet. If you have, let me know. I’d love to hear what you think! It may just take some trial and error to find the method that does the trick. But keep at it, and I know you'll find some relief and be crocheting with ease in no time. Thanks, Rebecca E., for this fantastic question. Do you have a question you’d like me to tackle? Send it to crochet@JenniferOlivarez.com, and I may answer it in a future newsletter.
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