Expert: Marla - 5/24/2011

Question
I have crocheted well over 100 afghans in my 55 years and cannot figure this out. I have such distortion in an afghan I am working on and don't know what to do. I had this project almost done and found such distortion in my project it made me ill.. I recounted every row,  re-examined every stitch found nothing wrong. Thinking that perhaps I had my first few rows too tight I took out the whole thing. Well here I am again on the third try with this beautiful distorted afghan. I have never run across this in all my life. Could it be the yarn? I have used this type before and have had a little distortion but never like this! The yarn has a sheen to it. Could that have something to do with it? I have in the past had a little distortion in projects but it has always been easily remedied with a short wash on the gentle cycle and tossed in the dryer. But I have put way too much time and energy into this project to just toss it in the washer and dryer. I am downright scared to death to do anything much with it.   A friend paid me good money to make this for her and I cannot with a clear conscience charge someone for something that is not top notch quality. I take great pride in my work and am just so very disappointed that it is not turning out as I had expected!! I know nothing about blocking a project. I have many crochet books and have seen nothing that even talks about blocking. Not once! I have limited space in my small apartment. What do I do? I am so very desperate! Thank you!

Answer
Hi Junie!
Thanks for asking. I’m sorry you are having troubles. Since you have had some trouble with this kind of yarn in the past, this may be the problem, and this particular pattern may compound it.  I think I know what kind of yarn you are talking about. I have never ordered a kit with yarn before, but I have seen other peoples, and am not particularly fond of it.
If you are like me, you have tubs of yarn left over from other projects.  Perhaps you can try the pattern for a few rows with regular yarn and see what happens.
Another thing that comes to mind is the gauge. Does yours match the patterns gauge? I rarely check my gauge when crocheting afghans. With your experience, you probably don’t need to, but perhaps this particular pattern needs a strict gauge.
As far as blocking, one way is to dampen the afghan, and pin it to shape on a large surface, like a bed, and let it dry. This may be all it needs,
I’m sorry I can’t be of more help. Good luck! And please let me know how it is going.

Marla