Achieving Drape When Crocheting
Draping Determines Whether Fit is Flattering in Crocheted Items
Mar 13, 2008
Drape is important to creating a flattering garment fit. Some items, like hats, require denser drape to stand up on their own. Some items, like sweaters, look nice using a medium drape. Many items look best with a loose, flowing drape.
Drape is usually a matter of taste; patterns will usually recommend yarns and hooks that result in the best drape for the item being made. When designing, hook size, yarn size, and stitching techniques all work together to determine drape. One stitch technique, the extended single crochet, is great for increasing drape in a fabric without leaving holes throughout.
Hook Size
The size of hook used in a project is directly related to the fit of the item – the larger the hook, the looser the drape. For example, a fingering weight yarn used with a “K” hook will produce an item with a nice amount of drape.
If a specific yarn is swatched twice using two different size hooks, the bigger hook will produce a swatch with better drape because its stitches have more room to breathe and more room to move. Increase hook size to increase drape.
Yarn Size
The size of yarn used in a project is also directly related to the fit of the item – the thinner the yarn, the looser the drape. Smaller sized yarns result in items with nice amounts of drape.
Stitching Techniques
- Drape can be increased by working in one loop instead of two. Working only in the back loop creates ribbing. Working only in the front loop creates a flatter fabric.
- Double crochet drapes better than single crochet. Single crochet tends to be a little stiff and unyielding; increasing hook size does help alleviate this.
Although all the aforementioned items do help increase drape, there are times when little holes can pop up between each stitch once the fabric is washed. A more solid fabric requires a denser stitch. For this purpose, the extended single crochet (esc) works very well. A fabric made up of esc's is softer than one made of sc's.
To execute the extended single crochet stitch:
- insert hook into the next stitch
- yarn over, draw yarn through stitch
- chain 1 (yarn over, draw yarn through one loop)
- yarn over, draw yarn through two loops
The extended single crochet makes a swatch that is taller and wider. Since it is bigger than a single crochet, extended single crochets work up faster than single crochet.
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