Chenille yarn helpp

[u/Feisty_Wind_2664]

It's my first time using chenille yarn, why does it look so lumpy (1st pic)?? 2nd pic is the inspo

The yarn width is about 6mm n I'm using a 4mm hook, my tension is rather tight as my hook came off a few times🫢...

Is it the type of yarn I'm using or is there a technique to make it less lumpy?? I did yo/yo on the body and read that yu/yo helps w the lumpyness... I tried it with the hair n it seems about the same...

Or there's the possibility of me staring at it for too long, tho I have had this sitting on my desk for 2 days...

I'm open to any critique or criticism... I've been planning this project for months n I was really excited to start, tho the endless frogging, trial n error is starting to make me demotivated... 😭😭

[u/Recycling_myself]

This seems like it might be a tension issue. The lumpiness can occur if you aren't using enough (or consistent) tension with chenille yarn. It is especially apparent if you're using a smaller hook with larger yarn. With chenille yarn of this thickness, I usually use a 5mm hook. If you use a smaller hook, you gotta keep things extra tight to avoid lumps, and even then, its just hard when your hook is too small

When I make amigurumi, I yu/yu while holding my yarn a bit tighter in my non-crochet hand. Make sure if you do yo/yo, yu/yo, or yu/yu, keep it consistent across the piece.

Edit to say, I would try going up a size on your hook, keep the tension consistent, and do yu/yu and see how that turns out

Edit 2: actually, it might be that the tension is too tight, along with the smaller hook. Still gonna suggest going up a hook size

[u/Recycling_myself → u/Recycling_myself]

Also, if you arent using a pattern, that may also be lending to the inconsistent lumpiness. It looks like the inspo might have more rows for increases and decreases.

I would see about adding more rows for smoother and more consistent increases/decreases, which might require it to be bigger as well.

[u/jedipwnces]

I think I'd probably finish one and see how I feel before making adjustments but I know chenille yarn is pricey so that may not be how you want to proceed.

It's naturally going to poof out a little bit because of the composition of the yarn. That combined with a smaller hook size and tight tension can cause the little bumps to seem more pronounced. Maybe try easing up a bit on the tension. You don't have to keep it as tight as you would with an acrylic or cotton yarn because all the extra fluff fills in those gaps between stitches pretty well.

What's the brand of yarn you're using? That might help with hook size recommendations. For what's left of my Big Twist Posh stash, I use 4mm. For most of my other chenille yarns, I use at least a 6mm hook. So sizing up could help.

[u/yarn_baller]

It looks normal to me

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[u/No-Candle-8194]

I think there are yarns that have a bit more fluff to them and add to the fluffy look rather than the crochet stitch look. Your chenille looks very uniform and smooth! I have the premier yarn basix chenille brights and it's a bit choppy looking on the strand that it's actually really hard to see the stitches. But their parfait chunky chenille is smooth and much easier to see, they just give different looks for the finished product. I'd play around finding fuzzier chenille yarn that isn't just the fur yarn (as that's a different ball game completely) or maybe look into the brushing the yarn technique cause I seen people use the wire brush to fluff it up.

[u/Physical-Natural8432]

The stitches look smaller compared to the overall project in the inspo pic. I think yours is just much smaller than the inspo.

The yarn looks totally normal to me!

[u/gamerbirb_b]

I think you’re just using way thicker yarn than your inspo. With a thinner yarn you would do x times as many stitches to reach the same size, but the whole shape would become more defined and the individual stitches less apparent.

[u/VicentIsMe]

Mmm...have u tried a smaller hook??