One chain stitch short!

[MidwifeJo]

Please help!

 

I chained 132 stitches - I was pretty sure I counted them correctly!  Then I dc'd all the way back along, per the pattern (6 dc, then a 2dc, ch, 2dc type pattern).  I got back to the other end and realized I am one chain stitch short!  (I have double checked and I did not throw an extra dc in there anywhere).  Is there any way to add a chain stitch onto the beginning tail of my original chain?  I'd really rather not have to pull out all 131 dc's for the sake of 1 chain stitch...

 

Thank you!

Jo

[magiccrochetfan]

It would help to know exactly what you are making---name and location of pattern, or link to it if its free online.  Some "cheats" might not work in all situations.  

 

you can probably just do 2 dc in that last chain, that would be simplest fix.

 

Another idea would be to do a triple in the last ch (along with the dc you already made) as shown here http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/increase-blocks-at-the-end-of-a-row-in-filet-croch.html

that leaves the bottom of the tr available as sort of a ch substitute.  

 

but again, tell us the specific pattern for better advice :-) 

[redrosesdz]

I got tired of making long chains only to find I'm 1 chain short or long.  I tried marking every 10 or 20 chains, but it was still taking way too long and I still made mistakes.  Then I found foundation stitching.  It's where you make the chain and first row at the same time.  You're never short or long!  It's a breeze to do and it's more stretchy than a chain, which means that the first row will be even with the rest of the rows.

 

There is a wonderful class at craftsy.com.  It's called "Mastering Foundation Stitches" with Marty Miller.  There are probably youtube videos that show it, too.  I highly recommend the class.

[Avon Lady]

I got tired of making long chains only to find I'm 1 chain short or long.  I tried marking every 10 or 20 chains, but it was still taking way too long and I still made mistakes.  Then I found foundation stitching.  It's where you make the chain and first row at the same time.  You're never short or long!  It's a breeze to do and it's more stretchy than a chain, which means that the first row will be even with the rest of the rows.

 

There is a wonderful class at craftsy.com.  It's called "Mastering Foundation Stitches" with Marty Miller.  There are probably youtube videos that show it, too.  I highly recommend the class.

I agree!  Foundation stitching saved my sanity!!!

[Granny Square]

I agree with the above; the filet 'making stitches into the air' solution of using a triple is very similar to the concept of the foundation dc.

 

So, in the last chain, make either the triple or the foundation dc (same as extended DC) as the first stitch, and then make the second stitch into the bottom loop of either of these stitches.

 

What I tend to do if I need to chain anything over 100 or so, is to chain 'the right number', then chain a few more.  You can pick out the extra chains  and weave the end in later, it won't unravel from that end.  Very old patterns used to tell you to make a chain of a certain length, then cut off the extra, but I've never been that brave.

[MidwifeJo]

Thank you all so much for the advice!  I ended up sitting at a table with bright light, undoing the knot at the tail end, and very carefully reverse constructing a new chain stitch on the end using the tail!!!  It was not easy - especially as I had left myself an unusually short tail (only a few inches this time).  But it worked.  I like the ideas here and definitely see the benefit of adding "a few more" to a long chain stitch (will likely do that next time), but I'm also intrigued by the foundation stitch.  I'll look that up too!

Thanks again  

 

Oh, and the pattern is a chevron baby blanket that I found on Etsy.  It's coming along fast and beautiful