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Making first shawl, need help on edging.


Christy.lee1989

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So I'm making my first shawl for one of my elderly neighbors. Came to me a couple days ago with some Red heart yarn and asked me if I could make her a shawl. I showed her some pictures and she settled on one that looks like a granny square, but a triangle. Well we were talking about how she wanted the ends, I could put some tassels or whatever hey are called, the strings hanging down, or a shell, or different things,s he said she just wants a plain grey shawl, no "fancy" edging as she called it, just straight lines.

 

So here is my question. I will post a pic just in case u don't understand me on what It looks like, but when I get all finished, do I just leave it as it is, or should I go around in sc or something? I'm not sure how to end it. I'm afraid that if I leave it how it is with nothing, it might stretch out, but if I sc around it, I'm thinking it might not look right? I just wanted to get the opinion of people that have made more of these than me, maybe someone might have a good idea for me.

 

 

Ok uploader not working for me so I hope this works

http://tinypic.com/r/2gub69x/9

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I also don't think it would stretch.

You could add 1 row of sc around. It would finish it off. It's all personal preference.

If it were mine, I would add 1 round sc (all 3 sides), then on the two bottom sides of the triangle add 1 row of dc, then another row of sc to finish it off. Sometimes I just never want a project to end. (sigh)

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The sides are the tops of stitches, so they are even already.  Take a look at the top edge, which shows the sides of the dc stitches.  Does it look straight or a bit jagged?  If it looks straight, then you're done.  If it looks jagged a single sc only along the top would smooth it out without adding any "fancy edging."  Because it's all one color, the eye will not see the sc top edge.  It will just make it look smooth. 

 

Just make sure that when you do an sc edge along the sides of stitches that you don't just put your hook in the largest holes.  You want to go under just 2 strands at a time.  They should be approximately the same distance apart as the tops of your stitches.  If they are too close together, they will bunch up.  Too far apart and it'll either be too tight or you'll have long loops.  For example, for rows that are the height of an sc, I tend to put 2 sc for every 3 rows.  For hdc rows. I put an sc for every row.  And for dc rows, I put 3 sc for every 2 rows.  However, counting how many sc stitches you put in is less important than eyeballing if they look like the tops of your normal stitches (unless you need a certain count for a fancy edge.)

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Just make sure that when you do an sc edge along the sides of stitches that you don't just put your hook in the largest holes.  You want to go under just 2 strands at a time.  They should be approximately the same distance apart as the tops of your stitches.  If they are too close together, they will bunch up.  Too far apart and it'll either be too tight or you'll have long loops.  For example, for rows that are the height of an sc, I tend to put 2 sc for every 3 rows.  For hdc rows. I put an sc for every row.  And for dc rows, I put 3 sc for every 2 rows.  However, counting how many sc stitches you put in is less important than eyeballing if they look like the tops of your normal stitches (unless you need a certain count for a fancy edge.)

This has always been the hardest part for me. I know I want to do the top edge cause thwt is the edge where I turn and everything, I want to at least make that part a little straighter, but figuring out who many to put where is where I get messed up at.

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Since you're not doing anything more than covering up the edge, then you don't have to worry about how many sc stitches across.  If you're not sure on the spacing, try for 3 sc in every 2 rows (since the row height is a dc.)  See how that looks to you.  You can always rip it out and try again, if it doesn't look right.  If you look for the places with 2 strands, it's easier to get an even sc edge.  There is no set rules, only guidelines, for putting an sc edge along the side of rows.  It doesn't have to be exact for it to look good.  It's a matter of what looks good to you.  :)

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This has always been the hardest part for me. I know I want to do the top edge cause thwt is the edge where I turn and everything, I want to at least make that part a little straighter, but figuring out who many to put where is where I get messed up at.

 

In the photo it looks perfectly straight already to me.  Seriously, I would stop now, it looks great as is.  here's my thinking:  as you said, it is hard to know how many sts to put into the side of a st.  if you put in too many and rip them out, that edge may get distorted/stretched just from having been stitched into.  then it will be harder to work into it with fewer sts and it may stay stretched out (of course laundering may get rid of any stretching, but still).  

 

i guess my bottom line is that the stitch pattern has a nice flow to it and adding stitches with a different "rhythm" will interrupt the rhythm that is already there.  

 

Obviously I'm in the minority but I often think edgings are not needed and things look better without.  

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The shawl is very lovely. I am curious what you decided to do.

I did a little piece of the sc boarder and showed it to her and asked her which way she wanted it, she said wi the border.

 

And she didn't ask for no border at all, just what she vocals fancy edging, like a lace type edging, or those 5dc shells, or the, don't know e name, but the strings hanging down, that type she didn't want.

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I'm glad you figured out a decision.  I'm probably wrong, but to me there's a difference between an edging and a border.  I call it an edging when it's 1 or 2 sc along the outside of something to smooth it out or prepare for a border.  An edge adds very little to the size.  I call it a border when you add multiple stitches and it's adding size to the project.

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The strings hanging down are called fringe.

 

I'm sure there's lots of variation from person to person, and maybe regionally as well, but I think the words border and edging are often interchangeable.  To me, if I think about it, "edging" does sound like a narrower addition and "border" sounds like a wider one, like you said Redroses, but I am pretty sure i have used the words the other way around also :blush

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