Help! How many rows do I have?

[Clare Wittrock]

I'm a total newbie and I lost count of my rows.  I can't figure out how to tell how many I have?  

 

Thanks!

[magiccrochetfan]

Hi, welcome to the ville!

 

One of the most important steps in crocheting (or knitting) is learning to "read your stitches", to be able to look at your work and see what you have done.  So what I's suggest is that you start another sample (this is called swatching) and after you make the first row, stop and take a good look at it.  Now make another row and again stop and really look at it.  Look for the spot where the 2 sets of stitches meet.  Actually, maybe stop halfway across the second row and see how the 2 rows look different from the first row by itself.  This way you can learn to read your rows.

 

Your photo looks like single crochet to me and being a short stitch it can be harder to read than the taller stitches.  In the photo your yarn looks dark and that makes it hard for me to see.  You can also mark the first/last stitches of a row with a piece of yarn or a bobby pin.  Having these markers will make it easy to count rows when working with dark yarn or stitches that blend together. 

[sarisue]

Those are some great ideas above.  it looks like sc to me too and after downloading and flipping around I come up with 10 rows but can't be really sure.

[Granny Square]

Another little hint, when you start with a chain, then turn and stitch back, the yarn tail is at the end of row 1 (or to look at it another way, will be at the beginning of row 2).  So you can keep track of odd/even rows that way.

 

Your working yarn appears to be at the opposite end of the tail, so that means you just finished an even row.

 

............if you were to have used a foundation stitch, not a chain, it's just the opposite of what I just said.  (It doesn't look like you did that, though).

 

Another hint: when you are working in rows, the stitches are offset, like a brick wall.  So rows 1 and 3 will line up, and rows 2 and 4 will line up vertically.  Knowing this can help you count rows as well.