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Slanted Blanket! Help!!


Alo

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I’m making a baby blanket using a pattern I just kinda made up. This is my second time attempting after undoing the first one 😔 however it’s still slanted and I can’t figure out why 🤷🏻‍♀️ Every row has the same amount of stitches because that’s what I thought I did wrong the first time. Any ideas why it’s still slanted? 

my pattern is dc for an entire row then ch 2 and fpdc for the next row and then just repeat. 

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I suspect that your problem is that you placed your first stitch and last stitch in the wrong place.  You should dc in the first stitch from your turning stitch, and dc in the top of the turning chain at the end of the row.  Good luck!  Let us know if that doesn't help.

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I disagree with part of what Avon Lady said. 

The convention is, when you chain up and turn, the chain counts as a stitch (as if it were made into the first stitch, but it's really not IN it), so you don't stitch into the first DC, but you do stitch into the top of the chain from the prior row, when you get to it in the current row.  If you chain 3, stitch into the first chain and the top of the chain at the end of the row, you will add a stitch each row.  Chain 3, skip the first stitch and DC into the next, and use the chain as a stitch at the end of the row is what 99% of the patterns assume you will do.  However, this can leave a little gap, depending on your stitch height gauge.

There are other ways to deal with this: 

(1) There is a chainless 'chain up/first DC', which is a little fiddly at first, but pretty nifty.  This counts as a stitch, but is made into the first stitch, so t the end of the next row, you stitch into the top of this phony DC (it works the same as a DC as far as stitching into it).

(2) you could chain 2, DC in the first stitch, and don't count the chain 2 as a stitch (so don't stitch into it at the end of the next row; treat it like the turning 1 chain of a SC, which doesn't count as a stitch).  There is a slight visual difference, the sides are a tiny bit wavy if you do this, but there is no gapping and it's easier to work into a 'real' stitch at the end of the row than into the top of a chain.

(3) you could put a (sc, chain 1) into the first stitch, and make your last stitch in the next row into the chain 1.  So no gaps, but you do have to work into a chain at the end of a row.  If you make really tall stitches, you may have to sc, chain 2.

(4) I 'unvented' something that works pretty well-2 stacked SCs.  Don't chain, sc in the first DC.  Insert hook into the left side of the sc, not the top - there are 2 loops on the side, sort of odd and tricky to find the first time.  This sort of 'tips' the first sc on it's side to the 'top' is at the side, but the second sc top is, well, like a normal stitch top.  This first stitch is a tiny bit thicker than a normal DC, but IMO looks a lot better than the gap you get with the conventional ch 3, skip the first stitch.

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I don't think your stitch count is keeping the same; or if it is, you're adding a stitch on 1 side and subtracting on the other, but it doesn't look that way.  One quick way I check myself, before resorting to counting, is by following a stitch column near the edge -- see below.

Forgive my unsteady hand, but I picked an arbitrary stitch on the bottom left side and followed the stitch column (stitch going into stitch below) toward the right side with a red line.  Notice it petered out before I got to the right side edge, which means you are adding stitches on that side.  I couldn't quite see the stitches at the top edge as clearly so my line is probably wavering from the stitch column a little, but it looks like, you lost some stitches on that side from the beginning, and then appears to be even.  Notice it seems to be about the same row on the blanket where you started working even on the top side, and started gaining stitches at the bottom side.

How are you making your stitches?  For plain DC, the convention is, to start a row with chain 3, skip the first DC in the row below, and make a DC into the second stitch.  Reason:  the standard understanding/convention is the chain 3 takes the place of a DC, so the chain 3 is counted as if it were 'in' the first stitch.  Then, at the end of the row, the convention is to make your last DC into the topmost chain that was the beginning of that row.  That keeps the stitch count even.

There are other ways to handle it, example you could chain 3, dc into the first stitch (so you've made an extra stitch), and then just ignore the top of the chain 3 at the end of the row.  This gives your edges a little 'not straight, but rather slightly scalloped' look.  

 

crooked blanket.jpg

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Don't be embarrassed, look at my attempt of a dishtowel! I found out I had too many stitches in the first or last stitch. This may be the problem with your blanket too? I'll try to find the pattern I was using so I can give you more beginning and ending of row specifics.

Here is the pattern for rows 2 and 3 that I followed. The problem had something to do with the HDCs on the end or maybe 2 in 1 stitch, don't quite remember exactly. 

I've attached a photo of the fixed version of my dishtowel. 😀

R2 - Ch1, Turn, HDC into next 2 Stitches, *Sk2, (SC, HDC, DC) into next stitch, repeat from * until 2 sts remain, HDC into last 2 Sts (43)

R3 - Ch1, Turn, HDC into next 2 Stitches, *(SC, HDC, DC) into next stitch, Sk2 repeat from * until 4 sts remain, Sk2, HDC into last 2 Sts (43)

20190805_123020.jpg

20190808_154734.jpg

Edited by Cindymcb
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Ah well, it's still functional and the dishes won't care!  Dish cloths are good practice pieces for this reason.

And indeed, don't feel bad as I've been crocheting for decades and sometimes my brain checks out watching TV while crocheting.  Rip, rip!  :frog

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