Mesh pattern tunic pattern help

[sc6923]

Hello! My name is Susan and I'm from sunny England. Thank you for having me here - I'm excited and grateful to be surrounded by such talented crocheters! I was wondering if anyone could provide this newbie with a bit of help. I'm trying to do a tunic and having problems with the foundation row. The pattern says to chain 111 which I'm fine with. The pattern then says:

1tr in 6th ch from hook, *1ch, miss 1ch, 1tr in next ch, rep from * to last ch, 1tr in last chain, turn. 108 sts.

My problem is I end the row having done my last tr and then have that last stitch remaining and I can't imagine I'm meant to do 2trs next to each other but if I end on the last chain, I have 3 stitches left. I just don't understand - can anyone help me? Many thanks!

[magiccrochetfan]

welcome to the ville!

do you have 108 stitches?  if so, just leave the extra chain for now and you can either unpick it late or just work it into the seam.

 

I don't understand what you mean by "if I end on the last chain, I have 3 stitches left"  Could you clarify?

 

Also it is very helpful to know the name and location of the pattern.  if it is free online you can post a link to the pattern site.  

[sc6923]

Thanks magiccrochetfan. Really appreciate your time. I've checked and I've not gone wrong so I don't understand how the pattern expects to end with a treble. I count 105 stitches but don't know many to count of the original 6 chains down the side. The pattern is from a book I got at the library. I will post a picture of the relevant bit in the hope that it makes more sense than I do.

[magiccrochetfan]

you probably want to review the site guidelines under the Town Hall forum section, we are not supposed to post photos or scans of patterns because this violates the pattern copyright.  you can type out the line you have the problem with and the line before that for context.  What is book title and pattern name?  

 

Before your first tr, the chains there will count as 1 tr and 1 chain, so 2 sts.  the chain right before the first tr counts as 1 ch, and the 3 ch before that count as one tr.  the 2 ch before that are now part of the foundation chain so you wouldn't count them on this row.  

[magiccrochetfan]

http://roycedavids.blogspot.com/2011/12/filet-crochet-starting-work.html  photos there may help to visualize this.  it shows how the chains actually form the first block of the mesh.  this has a mesh with 2 ch between tr (for reference, US dc) and your pattern only has 1 ch between the tr stitches, but the principle is the same.  

...and I realize thatmight actually be more confusing , so if it is, i apologize

[sc6923]

So many thanks for your help. You're awfully kind and I appreciate it. Apologies for the picture - my legal understanding is that very small extracts don't infringe copyright but I overlooked the site rules clearly. Apologies again and thanks for the help - I'll have a look and see if I can grasp it. Thanks again - I hope to be able to help in the future! :-)

[magiccrochetfan]

You are welcome! If you need more input, let us know, there are lots of people here for help when you need it. And i'm sure you will be able to help others too :-)

[Granny Square]

I guessing, but am unsure, that your pattern is in UK terms?  Something seems a little amiss...

 

For US double crochet (UK triple), if you were making solid US DC piece you'd chain 2 more than the number of stitches you wanted, then US DC into the 4th chain.  So, within 4 chains, you have 2 stitches (3 chains = 1 turning US DC).

 

In a pattern for mesh comprised of US DC, ch-1, you'd also chain 2 more than the number of stitches.  You have to begin and end with a turning chain or a US DC (you can't end with a ch-1).  Looking at a really small sample to make the math easier :

|.|....

The 3 red dots (chains)= the first US DC (too bad I can't type them vertically), the other dots are chains and the | are US DC.  So, you have 7 chains for 5 stitches (3 US DCs, 2 chain spaces).  The first "real" US DC is made in the 5th chain from the hook.

 

Your pattern tells you to chain 111, but that you will end with 108 stitches (3 chains more than the number of stitches, not 2 as I described above).  What bothers me is that the pattern is telling you to put the first US DC in the 6th chain, which would leave you 1 chain short of putting that extra US DC at the end of the row (you would have come out right if you used the 5th chain).  If you are working US DCs, putting the first stitch in the 6th chain would equal dc, ch-2, dc, which is not concurrent with the rest of your pattern.  If you are working US triples/UK DCs, using the 6th chain = tr, ch-1, tr, which would fit the pattern (turning chain=4 chains, plus ch-1) but still not leave you an extra chain to use at the end for the 2 triples together at the end.

 

Sorry this is so wordy, and I hope I haven't confused you.  But, as Magiccrochetfan said, a nice thing about crochet is that you can chain a few extra and pick out the extra chains later (it won't unravel in that direction).

 

As far as why there might be 2 solid stitches in 1 end and not the other - does the pattern photo show this?  It's more common for each end to be symmetrical, but maybe there's a reason for the extra stitch--could it be the front opening maybe, with the extra stitch making it a bit more sturdy?

[sc6923]

Thank you so much Granny Squares. You expressed that far better than I ever could have. I think I get what you're saying and I think that confirms to me how it doesn't add up which is what I was struggling with. The pattern is supposedly in UK terms and I've now been able to really zoom into the picture. I can't see the sides in the picture but it does show that there isn't a clear symmetry to the squares/mesh. I'm not very good at explaining this but the picture looks like a series of misaligned squares. I'm comforted that the maths of it didn't make complete sense to you either - I can't get my head around why its that way. I did a few rows just as the pattern says and one side looks okay but the other side has those silly 2 UK trebles side by side on alternate rows. It looks a bit daft really. I think I may try adding an extra stitch to ensure that the row finishes on a treble. That may be nonsense talk - I'm not good enough at this yet but I think the extra stitch will make both sides even. Its just a tunic joined at the sides with sleeves. No other openings so I can't see a reason for the 2 trebles together on one side.

 

I have to say you have both given me some confidence to try whatever makes it work and have really broken through my own silly limitations that make me unable to adapt it, modify it or do anything that may deviate from the pattern by the slighesr stitch. Having taught myself to crochet last year, I don't feel entirely confident when something like a pattern is a bit weird! I'm just being silly!

 

Can't thank you enough!

[magiccrochetfan]

Susan, if you want to post the book title and pattern name, someone may have the book to refer to and offer additional thoughts.  

[sc6923]

Page 21 of Hooked on Crochet: 20 Sassy Prohects by Candi Jensen.

 

Sorry magiccrochetfan - should have said it earlier. You have the patience of a saint! :-)

[Granny Square]

I wonder if there are 2 books by that title (and author!).  The Amazon preview of that book omits page 21, but the pages before and after are how to make basic stitches.  The patterns appear later.

http://www.amazon.com/Hooked-Crochet-20-Sassy-Projects/dp/1580175473

 

On Ravelry, there are 4 projects linked to a pattern called 'lacy sleeveless shell', from that book (but on page 74, according to the above link of the table of contents).  One of the projects looks like your stitch pattern, the other 3 do not (garments are identical except the stitch pattern).  I don't think this link will work for you unless you belong to Ravelry

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lacy-sleeveless-shell/people

 

The creator of the one that looks like your stitch pattern is from Great Britain; the other 3 are from Austrailia, Austria, and the US.  I wonder if there are different book versions for different regions??  I could see changing wording/language but not the PATTERN, though.

 

Anyway...the one that looks like your pattern stitch has 2 US DC (or US triples, hard to tell with the variegated yarn used) at each side of the front opening (which makes sense since it buttons, you would need more solid fabric there).

[sc6923]

Many thanks for the info Granny Square - my apologies for the delay in responding.  It would appear that there are different versions of the book as I had a look at your link (the Amazon one) and the cover is exactly like the book I had, is the right title and author but the inside pages show some garments which weren't in my book.  The pink granny square type scarf was in my book but not the baby garment and the other one.  I hadn't realised that there may be differences in region.

 

The garment I'm working on is simply called mesh pattern top and consists of one front piece, one back piece and twol long sleeves.  The front and back are joined at the sides so I can't see a reason for one side having the two trebles together and I can't believe the pattern is that wrong in terms of there being errors in the stitches throughout the row so I don't understand it.  I'm still clueless on this one - it's odd.  I've had to return the book now as I couldn't renew it due to someone else having placed a reservation on it.  I've written the pattern down to finish the probject so I'll have to keep figuring it out.  I'm okay with the misaligned squares - they would end up being misaligned naturally I reckon with the shaping and decreases and increases - it's just these two trebels on the end that I don't get - doesn't make sense to me.

 

I realised that one extra stitch may very well sort out the rows where I'm ending with the 2 trebles next to each other but then I imagine the alternate rows (where they are currently right) will end up being wrong by virtue of them having the 2 trebles next to each other.  So in effect, I'd just be swapping the sides with the 2 trebles.  I'm kicking myself now for looking at the pattern and thinking, "that seems simple enough - even I could do that i reckon".....  Famous last words!  :-)

[sc6923]

Just an update Granny Square - been testing my theory on a small sample and it works fine - I get aligned squares and I don't end with 2 trebles on any row. I wonder if the problem is the initial number of chains - having checked all the sizes, they're all an odd number and with an odd number, you can't do the one treble and 1 chain (2 stitches and an even number) with an uneven number of chains. Or have I just massively over simplified this? The even number seems to work very well so I'm going to go with that and see how I get on. Thank you for your help and magiccrochetfan - I would have given up if it weren't for you. Thank you!! :-)

[Granny Square]

Glad you persevered and got it to work the way you wanted!  Have fun with it!