Helped needed with dc pattern- beginner

[Aynay1981]

Hi there! Ultra beginner here. I have a pattern I would like to do. I have been practicing but I think I have been getting mixed information. I thought I would ask a couple questions to help me get going in the right direction. 

If I need a row of 10 dc stitches how many should I chain together first? I have read both add both 2 or 3. Then I take the hook and insert it into the 4th loop and begin to build off that. 

Even if my stitch count is even I seem to have an issue with the edges of my work having large “waves” to them. I know it’s normal for them to have a slight wave, but mine are very bulky. I can always post a photo for example. 

Thanks in advance!!

[magiccrochetfan]

Hi, welcome to the Ville!  

Please tell us about the pattern, its name and where it is.  That way we can see if there is anything unusual you need to know about it.  

And yes please do post a photo so we can see the wavy edges.  

[Granny Square]

A couple of things.  First, there's a standard/typical way that patterns use to determine the number of chains to do to support x number of DCs (assuming straight DCs being worked, not a lacy pattern which might start with more chains for the openwork).  Second, that standard/typical way may not work as well visually for everyone, because not everyone has the same vertical stitch tension.

The standard/typical number, applied to the shortest conventional DC row possible:  Chain 4 in your head.  Make a DC into the fourth chain from the hook (the first chain you made).  You have 2 DCs:  the skipped chains, which stand in for a DC, and the real DC.  So, you chained 4 and got 2 DCs...the answer to your question is that you chain 2 more than the number of DCs you want in a row.  It seems sort of counter intuitive, because there are 3 chains unused at the beginning of your first row, and the standard/typical instruction is to chain 3 at the end of the row to turn, but really 1 of those chains in the first row is the 'foundation chain' of the DC stitch it takes the place of.  

I make sort of short-ish stitches.  The initial row as I described above is not a problem, but subsequent rows where the standard/typical way to start row 2 and beyond is "chain 3, turn, skip first DC, DC in next stitch" makes a gap, which might be your 'wave'.  The reason you skip the first stitch is because the chain-3 counts as a DC, and the chain sits a bit outside of the first stitch; but then you have a little gap of the missed first stitch.

There's a few ways to fix the gap.  If you make short-ish stitches, chaining 2 instead of 3 might work better.  What I do is turn, no chain, sc in the first stitch, chain 1 - this uses the usually-skipped first stitch so no gap, and brings me up to the height I need (sc, chain 2 might work if you make taller stitches).  There are a couple of somewhat more complicated solutions, but I don't want to scare off an 'ultra beginner'