How to keep track of rows and figuring out finishing

[BerniceV]

1.  I am having a problem with getting my size correct and I keep loosing track of how many rows I have completed any suggestions on how to keep track 

2. The instructions say to completed the square 25 chains around with 3 chains in corners but there should be 36 rows so how do I figure this out

i am attaching picture of instructions and what I have done 

thank you in advance for the help

i guess I posted this in the wrong place originally sorry for the duplicate post 

[Bailey4]

There are all kinds of ways to keep track of rows.  I have several row counters I've purchased over the years.  There are apps for the phone.  I've made notes on my phone.  People use paper and pen. 

I have enough trouble counting my own rows but I don't believe you have 35 single crochet rows there.  There are people far better at this stuff than I am that can probably do a better job counting than I, who will be along to help I'm sure but it does look like you are short rows.

It's kind of subtle but it goes from Row 35 to Round 36 because direction 36 isn't a row but a means of finishing off the square so the ends are cleaned up.  You are going to go around the entire outside of the square to finish off the square.

[Granny Square]

I've straightened out your pattern so we don't have to turn our heads.

Something is amiss (but not necessarily in a bad way) with your piece, it looks like you are working into 1 loop when you make your stitches.  If you work in the back loop only, it makes ribbing (would look like a fan-fold ^^^^^^ if you look at the sides), but it's not looking like it's contracting like ribbing - are you by chance working in the front loop only?  If you look at your fabric, and the pattern photo, yours has horizontal lines - which is not a bad thing, it looks nice, but it isn't 'conventional' SC.  If you work in 1 loop of the stitch, it leaves the other loop free (the horizontal line), which can be a decorative element.  I like the look of the fabric - it also makes it easier to count rows,  each ridge is 2 rows apart.

So, to count - the picture pf your piece appears to be wrong side up.  Not counting the ridge at the very bottom of your photo, I'm counting 14 ridges, which would be 28 rows, and there is another row above the top ridge, so 29 rows so far.

Round 36 (working around the square) is the hard part, it says to place 25 sc across each edge, and you have 27 stitches across, and will have 35 rows when you finish up to that point of the pattern.  Across, you only have to skip 2 stitches; typically you'd spreading them in an even-ish way across, like this -.-.- , where the dots are the skipped stitches, and the dashes are 1 stitch into 1 stitch--see how this gives you three 1:1 stitch areas, so I'd divide 25 by 3...which doesn't quite work evenly to 8, but I'd make 7 sc, skip 1, 8 sc, skip 1, 7 sc-- this will use up 25 stitches and is as evenly spaced as possible. 

Along the sides, you have a much greater gap - you have to subtract 10 stitches out of 35, and although SC is a little shorter than wide, I'd worry this might pucker.  But, Here's the sketch, which will be 10 skipped stitches and 11 groups of plain stitches (the same number of skipped stitches, plus 1, so not-skipped stitches are at each end) : -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-  25 divided by 10 is 2.5, so I'd alternate skipping after 2 sc, then after 3 sc, so--

(3sc, skip1)+(2sc, skip1)  uses 7, leaves 5,  balance 28

(3sc, skip1)+(2sc, skip1)  uses 7, leaves 5,  balance 21

(3sc, skip1)+(2sc, skip1)  uses 7, leaves 5,  balance 14

(3sc, skip1)+(2sc, skip1)  uses 7, leaves 5,  balance 7

(3sc, skip1)+(2sc, skip1)  uses 7, leaves 5, balance zero - but notice you are ending with a skip 1, which if it were a row would be a problem, but you are working in the round.  I'm not sure if this would cause the corner to not lie flat.

 

[Granny Square]

BGS, We posted at the same time.  Thanks for mentioning the row/round thing, I was going to point that out but then got wrapped up in the math.  

Edited September 20, 2020 by Granny Square