tapestry crochet help

[hsmith]

Hello! I am new to trying tapestry crochet and I wanted to make a pillow cover. I mapped out a square on a piece of graph paper and drew a big 'P' (a friend goes to Princeton). I made the entire square 50 by 50 blocks. I was under the impression that if I made 50 single crochets across, and then did 50 rows, that I would end up with a square. But it's not even close to square! I thought maybe I was using the wrong hook, so I tried some ten by ten swatches with 4 different hooks, and none of them are coming out square. I'm using worsted weight yarn. Any advice!?! I'm so frustrated!

[happy stitcher]

Go to Carol Ventura's Yahoo group called "Tapestry Crochet" and become a member.

You can download premade graph paper that will make your P look more like a P.

Good luck!

[Granny Square]

Also, although the sc is very nearly square, we all have variations on making stitches. You will need to do a swatch ( which it sounds like you already have ) and calculate how many rows you need to make a square the same measurement as your width.

 

You will notice most patterns with gauges usually don't have the same number of stitches for the height and width to make 4". Random example, Lion Brand Sock-ease's recommended gauge for Crochet: 24 stitches x 30 rows = 4" (10 cm) on size D-3 (3.24mm) hook

[hsmith]

thanks to both of you! I like the way the 'P' looks, but was really surprised to see it did not end up being even close to square.

[hsmith]

so I tried making the block with the house from the October 2010 Crochet World magazine 'Coloring Afghan' (it's posted for free online). It calls for a Red Heart Super Save, a G hook, 45 sc across, and 45 rows. My 'square' did not come out as a square! It is longer across the bottom than it is in height. Any ideas why? Thanks!

[faedragon]

A crochet stitch is not the same size in width as it is in height, even a single crochet stitch. Then you add in the tension it is stitched with, which effects the height of the stitch. This is why the 45 x 45 stitch "square" did not come out square, ie: the same measurement in length as it is in width. In order to see how many rows to how many stitches it will take to get a square the size you want, you will have to do a swatch. Once this is determined, the tapestry crochet part can be centered inside of the area you require.

[hsmith]

thank you! I just thought maybe I was doing something wrong since I was following a pattern and it didn't come out the way I thought it would.