Navajo Blanket

[SolusUmbra]

I restarted this Navajo blanket once already and now I'm starting to come a crossed the same type problem. After posting about it on Ravelry I switched to using the hook over and it seems to be helping, at least one on end. (forgive me if I'm not putting my words down correctly, today is covered in brain fog) With the navajo blanket its all worked one way and each row is cut at the end. My ending side is staying pretty straight, but my starting end keeps growing out. Can anyone come up with any suggestions on how I can stop/fix it from happening.

[bgs]

Some photos where we could see what is going on would help us figure out what is going on.  Have you been counting to make sure you are keeping the same number of stitches per row?  Its real easy to think you can eyeball it but its really easy to miss or add a stitch at the ends.  

[Granny Square]

Darn, sorry to hear this is still being a pain in the neck for you.  I'm out of ideas beyond the ones we already chatted about elsewhere. 

BGS, I believe the pattern is this one.  SolusUmbra was having leaning issues even tho she was following the pattern's BLO which should have fixed the leans, then in another thread/forum hook over was brought up.  I would think that the post stitch diamond pattern would mitigate not catching extra stitches.

 

[SolusUmbra]

 

[Granny Square]

It really is looking beautiful, I do love those 'Desert Sunset' colors 

I think it's tension.  Sometimes it can change over the course of a big thing, it gets heavy on our lap, whatever.

You can, temporarily and to a small/gentle extent, water block acrylic (I've done it with coasters with lacy edges); this should work long enough for fair judge handling).  Maybe try a small swatch in SC, a few rows with a J hook, a few with an I,  a few with an H, and see if you can block it straight, how it behaves.

Also, you're going to tie tassels, right?  This might camouflage it a tiny bit.

 

 

[bgs]

Sorry you are having such a time with that side.  You have done a lot of work and it looks really good.  If the stitch count is correct  then the only thing I can think of is that area stretched out while you were working on it from the weight of the afghan.  I know those are heavy afghans.  It has happened to me several times. 

[SolusUmbra]

Just because I can here is an image of the other side.

How should I change my tension at the start? Make it tighter or use a smaller hook, and how long  should I do it for? 

[Granny Square]

I wouldn't do it over, if that's what you meant.  And changing tension...no advice..., it just 'happens" sometimes like Bgs said.  Mood?  Project weight?  Scary scene on TV as we're working on it?  Working faster at the end to get it over with, already?  Being tentative at the beginning of learning a pattern, and changing when we have repeated it enough  we could do it in our sleep?  All of the above?

I wouldn't try changing hooks - I just mentioned changing hooks on a separate small swatch as sort of an extreme 'how  will it block out, if at all?' test.

[SolusUmbra]

So should I try to make it tighter?

[Granny Square]

I (personally) wouldn't do it over again, as that would be  the third time getting this far, right?  First BLO, then this one. 

I'd put it on time out for 24 hours and try the skewed swatch and see how water blocking worked; if it works the way you want it to, just keep going and water block it at the end.  I don't know about other folks, but I find it really hard to try to control/change my tension--it works for a short while, then autopilot/muscle memory sets in & my tension goes where it wants to go.  

If the purposely skewed swatch blocking result doesn't make you happy...rough call, but your call.  I'd (personally, again) be done with the pattern at that point, and try something else (it's a hobby and s'posed to be fun, right?).  The yarn is chopped up ... and probably going to be pilly with the 2 rippings, let alone 3 if the next version wasn't OK ... maybe pieced motifs, fancy enough to impress the judges to best re-use the short lengths of yarn?

[SolusUmbra]

I wasn't going to redo it but just try to keep it under control. Also what is skewed Blocking?

[Granny Square]

Sorry for the 'shorthand', I meant, make the purposely skewed swatch I mentioned and try to block it straight.