ChloeP

[ChloeP]

I learned to crochet a couple of years ago, I make blankets using super chunky yarn and a size N hook.  Instead of back and forth rows, I go around, like a granny square, but just using a single stitch (I don’t know what this pattern might be called, I just find it easier than doing regular rows. ) so I go down one side, chain two and turn into the first stitch of the next side.  My last couple of blankets have turned out wider in the middle than they are at the corners, so they are kind of a really fat rectangle.  Any thoughts as to what I’m doing wrong? 

[magiccrochetfan]

Hi Chloe, welcome to the Ville!       Do you mean that all four sides bulge outward?   If thats the case, you probably need to increase more at he corners.  If you could post a photo of a blanket laid out flat, or at least a good view of a corner, that may help with getting a diagnosis of the problem.  

[Granny Square]

Hi, and welcome to the 'ville!

Do you have a photo of one of these blankets, it might help to diagnose the problem.

What occurs to me is that you might not be adding enough stitches to turn the corners, but then I'd think it wouldn't lie flat either.

What do you do with the 2 chains when you get to a  corner?  

The 'rule' for single crochet, example if you were making a SC border around a square or rectangle, is to put 3 stitches into each corner.  What I like to do is, instead of 3 SC, is sc, chain, sc.  Then if there are more rows to the border, put sc, chain 1, sc into that center chain in the corner of the prior row.  It makes the corner turn more crisply than 3 sc in the corner.

Hi Magic, great minds....

 

[ChloeP]

As I look at it, I think maybe there are too many stitches somewhere in the middle too ??

[magiccrochetfan]

45 minutes ago, ChloeP said:

As I look at it, I think maybe there are too many stitches somewhere in the middle too ??

It does look like there are way more stitches on the sides, esp the left, than at the top.

are you following a pattern?  Which one?    Or how did you start this?  

Til now I thought you were trying to make a square but this looks like you started with a number of chains to make a rectangle, is that right? 

[Granny Square]

Hi Chloe, what I'm seeing is not what you are describing in your first post, or at least what I pictured.  I thought you started from a center pinpoint, like a granny square, and worked around a center point--but that is not what I am seeing.

The center green stitches are all going in the same direction for a large number of rows before I start seeing corners forming at 45° angles, so you do appear to be going back and forth in rows in that area at the top of the photo.  However I'm not sure what is going on at the bottom end of the photo.

The stitch count at the top of the center green part is way less than it should have been; and probably at the bottom, I can't quite  tell. 

You know there is nothing that is going to fix this without ripping out 100%, or nearly so, and starting over, right?  I'm not trying to be mean, just telling it to you straight.  When you are following a pattern in the round, and are 100% certain you are following it correctly, and it starts to not lie quite flat, it is not a bad idea to keep going - for a short while.  Depending on what it is, the same thing may have happened to the designer, and they may eventually throw in a correction that mitigates the problem.  Or not.  And then you need to recognize that YOU need to do to fix it, which may entail ripping back a few rows to where the problem began or decide to ditch the project all together.  The point is, don't let it get past the point of being able to fix it, which happened already in the center green part.

I have to say, as someone who works in the round a lot, as I like to make thread doilies, that working in the round can be a royal pain in the fanny.  You are having to walk a perilous tightrope of adhering to the law of geometry, pi x diameter = circumference.  You don't dare defy that law without bad things happening, like what happened in your blanket.  You have to know what you are doing to fix a problem if your stitches start to defy that law, and act quickly or get used to ripping.  Working in rows back and forth is a relative walk in the park, you just need to make sure you don't add or subtract stitches by accident.

Oh shucks, I thought I could get this done before Magiccrochetfan beat me again, but it looks like we are seeing the same thing.

 

[ChloeP]

Magic, yes, I started with a chain, then I work around.  And Granny, yes, I know I need to tear it all out.  I am just trying to figure out what went wrong so I don’t repeat the problem again.    The goal here is a rectangle that is square, which is what I have achieved in my other blankets like the one posted below.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a pattern to follow (nor would I really know how to follow one) I just sort of made this up.  When I was a little girl I used to watch my grandmother, but she never taught me more than how to chain, a couple winters ago I just decided I wanted to do it, so I worked this out, but I am essentially self taught.

[Granny Square]

Sorry if if sounded like I was lecturing you, sometimes folks come here for help and are loath to rip.

Ok, you are starting with a chain and working out, gotcha.  What your blanket is doing is 'cupping', which means it varies from being flat because the circumference is too small based on its ratio with the diameter--the solution to cupping is to add stitches.  I think my guess in my first post was right, that you need to add more stitches in the corners.  Everybody's stitch tension, including height, is different, so you may need to add even more in the corners now and then to encourage it to lie flat.

BTW, you know the length of your chain determines the difference in the measurement of length and width of your blanket, right?  If you start with a 2' chain, and add an equal height each row east, west, north and south, at the end you will have a blanket that is 3'x5', or 98'x100', depending on where you stop.

Edited November 9, 2019 by Granny Square

[ChloeP]

Ok, so I’ve torn apart the blanket that I was working on which was doing the same thing.  It looked like after my chain I turned and went into the next stitch, I’m going to skip a stitch and see if that doesn’t solve the problem.

[Granny Square]

No, it won't; it will just make your blanket 1 stitch longer in 1 direction.

When you get to the end of the chain, you need to make 2 corners on your now skinny chain- and when you come back around the other (beginning) end of the chain, make the other 2 corners.  Remember you need to add circumference to get rid of the bubble in the middle.

[Granny Square]

I'm still looking for a SC version, but here is a DC version of what you are trying to do (the closed pattern version).  Looking at the diagram might help you visualize it better than the photos.  Interesting that they are using 6 stitches in the corners, not 5, so maybe 4 not 3 in your crochet version couldn't hurt (1 sc, ch2, 1 sc) in each corner.

https://crochetnmore.wordpress.com/2015/04/07/crochet-rectangles/

edit, only found 1 sc version and I thought it was written a bit confusingly so won't post it here.  Really, the DC one works for SC if you adjust the corners for SC.

Edited November 9, 2019 by Granny Square

[ChloeP]

45 minutes ago, Granny Square said:

No, it won't; it will just make your blanket 1 stitch longer in 1 direction.

When you get to the end of the chain, you need to make 2 corners on your now skinny chain- and when you come back around the other (beginning) end of the chain, make the other 2 corners.  Remember you need to add circumference to get rid of the bubble in the middle.

I think I’m using the wrong words, but so far what’ve done appears to be working?

[ChloeP]

By the way, I really do appreciate the help! Thank you!

[Granny Square]

You're welcome!  It is looking good, yay!