Finished blanket - it's crooked.

[RNmama]

I've been crocheting for a little over a year. I've spent the past 4 months crocheting this blanket (it's slow going - I have 6 kids). I had to undo half of it when I was a little over halfway done because I had been adding stitches and it got wider. I was so mad and I counted EVERY SINGLE STITCH IN EVERY SINGLE ROW after that to ensure I always had 122. I finally finished it, but it's very painfully obviously crooked. The blanket got smaller as I went. It's 37 inches wide at the beginning and 31 inches wide at the end. It has the same number of stitches so I don't understand what I did wrong. Will blocking fix this? Help! Thank you so much! Any and all advice is welcomed and appreciated!! ❤️

It's not super apparent that it's crooked in the first pic I took but when I folded it in half it's much more obvious. 

Edited August 9, 2019 by RNmama
Typo

[bgs]

Welcome to the club!  Been there done that in both scenarios.  l would guess in my lifetime I have pulled out enough stitches that would make a blanket large enough to cover a football field.  If you are ABSOLUTELY sure you have the same number of stitches in every row and used the same hook throughout then your tension got tighter as you worked it.  I think 7 inches would be a lot to try to stretch or block out.  

[Donna]

Agreeing with Brenda, if you have the same number of stitches, your tension got tighter and tighter as you went along. After having to pull out so much of your work and count stitches on every row, you may have been stressed, which can easily make your tension tighter. It's too much of a size difference to block out. Also, generally for afghans I don't want to be blocking them every time I wash... I want to just wash, dry, and done. Blocking is a pain reserved for more intricate pieces.

[Granny Square]

I'm with Bgs, I think that's too much to yank into shape to block out.  Also noticed the wide end is farthest from the camera in the not-folded photo, which messed up the perspective to make it look OK at that angle.

I make very few blankets, but I think my tension changes a bit on bigger items when it gets heavier or versus being tentative with the stitch pattern at the beginning and going faster at the end to 'get it over with already'. 

This is a very narrow blanket, were you going to add side panels to make it wider?  That still might 'show', as each side panels would have to be 3.5" wider at 1 end than the other, but might be 1 way to go.

I'm probably tied with Bgs in the miles of yarn I've frogged over the decades.  Truthfully, if this happened to me I'd consider frogging this and going with a pieced type pattern (like granny squares, but not necessarily grannies), it's easier to keep 'quality control' on small motifs.  And not hard to put together if you join as you go.

Donna just posted as I was about to hit the post button, it looks like we're in agreement re:frogging (sorry).

Edited August 9, 2019 by Granny Square

[Donna]

Granny Square, your answers are always so wonderfully detailed... I'm glad you posted!

[bgs]

I am ocd so it would bother me enough that I would pull it apart and if I had enough yarn redo it trying to match my earlier tension which might require me switching over to a larger hook.  If I didnt have enough yarn I would pull it out back to where its even and use it as a lapghan. 

[Donna]

17 minutes ago, bgs said:

If I didnt have enough yarn I would pull it out back to where its even and use it as a lapghan. 

Oooh, that's a great idea!

[Granny Square]

That's an interesting idea (lapghan).    Or, lapghan and maybe rows around it, which would add an even distance around the blanket.  How wide is the starting (wide) side, 3'?  Is it still even widthwise 4' from the start?  If so, rip back to that point, and if you add rounds that are 6" deep, that would get you to the average 'couch throw' size of 4'x5'. (3' + 6" + 6") by (4' + 6" + 6").  If you add rows that are 12" deep, you'd end up with a 5'x6' blanket.  And so on.

The rule when making a rectangle center out, is to start with a beginning rectangle of any size having the difference between its length and width the same as  the difference between the length and width of the end rectangle.  So if you want the end triangle to be 1' longer than it's width, you could technically start with a rectangle 1" x 13" for example.  Or 1' x 2'.

[Donna]

Ooh, I just thought of something! For your next afghan. Everybody hates color changes. I probably shouldn't speak for everybody, but, well...

Anyhow, since you're fairly new to crocheting and you don't have a lot of time to dedicate to it, a single-color afghan can be a bit easier. That way, if you end up having to rip out rows, you're not also fighting color changes and possibly not having enough yarn when you re-use each color section of yarn you've ripped out.

I love the look of the stripes of color in this afghan, but it's another thing that can be a pain. If you get a few solid-color afghans under your belt, you'll reduce frustration and probably start feeling more relaxed with your gauge.

[bgs]

1 hour ago, Donna said:

Ooh, I just thought of something! For your next afghan. Everybody hates color changes. I probably shouldn't speak for everybody, but, well...

Because every color change equals 2 more ends to work in!

[Granny Square]

What the world needs is an end weaving Roomba-like thingy, scooting across crochet and knitting projects looking for ends to weave.  (I'm sort of imagining it looking like a spider holding a tapestry needle)  Hey, they have yarn ball winders, and sock knitting machines, why not?   

I almost recommended some splicing methods earlier to the OP, thinking about the color changes and yarn ends probably not ending at row ends if she rips.  I'd rather splice than end-weave, if I need to join at a not-edge.  So, RNmama:  If it is wool, 'spit' splice is the way to go (ick on the spit part, in spite of the alliteration - I think of it as faucet fusion--unply the ends, get them wet, overlap them and rub together until felted into 1 strand).  Otherwise my go-to is braided join, second favorite is  Russian Join (not to be confused with Russian grafting, which is something different and knitting related).  There are lots of youtubes on the Russian and Braided joins.  As far as knots go - just say no.

 

[Just jane]

This has happened on every blanket so far. I think as the work gets bigger and heavier that my tension must be getting tighter. Blocking did help a bit. Thinking next time may start with smaller hook for about 20 rows. 

[MaryPat]

I have trouble keeping count sometimes and I forget to do the first stitch of the next row.  Counting -- what could be simpler? 

I think using a smaller hook could be risky, especially if you're tightening up.  Perhaps consciously resting and shaking your hands and then deliberately trying to stay more relaxed would help.

[Just jane]

Anyone tried using one size larger hook when starting and the weight is lighter and crochet looser then switch to one size down.

[criblet]

1 hour ago, Just jane said:

Anyone tried using one size larger hook when starting and the weight is lighter and crochet looser then switch to one size down.

For larger projects, I've tried it the other way, starting with a smaller hook (except for the starting chain which I tend to need to use larger), then going to the hook size for the pattern/yarn -- I guess I got the idea that my starting gauge is loose, not that my ending gauge is tight.  But it might work out to be the same thing

Let me try an example:  Let's say I decide I like the yarn in stitch pattern with a J/6mm hook, from a quick swatch or based on something else I made. To start the new large project, I will do the starting long chain with a K/6.5mm, but switch to -- surprise! -- an I/5.5mm hook to work the first few rows.  Particularly if the stitch pattern is more solid, and has me inserting the hook in more of the starting chains than get skipped. Then I change to the J hook, once the piece is less floppy.

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by criblet
dropped words, fix spelling