Tubular Crochet—troubleshooting
If your practice piece does not have the distinct spiral pattern, or if a bead that should be horizontal is vertical, you've probably made a misstep somewhere in the process. Here are some common problems and suggestions for corrections.
- One of your beads seems to be disappearing into the tube.
Cause 1: the bead "pushed through" as you pulled the thread through the stitch; this is usually the result of tension that is too loose. If you examine the top of this incorrect tube, you'll see that the arrowed bead is on the inside of the tube, not on the outside as it should be. This is why it seems to be disappearing from the outside.
Cause 2: on one of your stitches, the wrapped thread did not come from the right side of the bead on the hook.
Correction: As you crochet, make sure that the beads of the previous round do not slip through the new stitch into the tube by keeping your thread tension strong enough to prevent the slip-through. Also, make sure that every time you wrap the thread around the hook, it comes from the right side of the bead that has been pushed over the hook.
 
- You don't have six beads at the top of your tube.
Cause: You dropped a stitch somewhere.
Correction: Carefully pull out stitches until you reach a point where you have six beads at the top of the tube. It may be helpful to "flatten" the top of the tube so you can see the spokes of thread surrounded by six visible beads. If you have difficulty picking up the loop on the stitch in which you will resume, use the threading needle instead of the hook. Avoid splitting the thread when you pull up the loop.
Note: When you crochet with only one color of bead, the top of your tube should still look like the tube in multicolor. There should be a defined spoke of thread surrounded by six clearly visible beads.
Mastering tube crochet may take some time and practice; many people work at it for a while before experiencing that wonderful "Eureka!" moment. You can pull out all your stitches and practice again with the same thread and beads as many times as the thread will allow; if it begins to fray at the end, cut it clean and try again. If you're ever traveling in Connecticut, visit us at the Beads East store, and we'll show you this wonderful technique in person.
Your finished tube should spiral around as shown here:
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