Trisha

[tcahill]

I am a complete beginner and have been trying to teach myself crochet during these crazy times!

I've been doing ok following the pattern I'm working on, but now I'm stumped...

The pattern says to do this-

Round 1: (in BLACK) Ch 4. Work 1 sc into the 2nd ch from hook. Work 1 sc in next ch, 3 sc in next ch (turns the corner), 1 sc in next ch, 2 sc in last ch. Join with sl st to first sc. (8)

I understand the first part- up to where it says turn the corner, but then I'm done with the original chain 4.  Where do I put the rest of the stitches?  The pattern says "1 sc in next ch" but I have reached the end of the original chain 4.  Where do I put these stitches?  How do I end up with 8 stitches in the round?

 

Help!!

 

Thanks :)

 

Trisha

[Bailey4]

You are working on back side of the chain to create an oval shape.

[Granny Square]

What Bailey4 said. 

A little more detail - when you work into a chain, you use 1 or 2 loops.  So the first half of the oval is worked into the chain in the usual way, then when you reach the last chain you usually put more than 1 stitch into that last chain to turn the corner, then proceed back toward the beginning in the unused 1 or 2 loops of the chain; then back at the beginning you put extra stitches into the last chain's underside to turn the other corner.

If this is still confusing, there are lots of videos on youtube showing how to work an oval, they might differ in detail from your pattern, but the concept is the same.

Since you are a 'complete beginner', a word of advice -- there is a method where you turn the chain so the chain-looking side is away from you, and you work into the 'back bump'.  This has a (minor) plus side - the edge of the fabric looks slightly neater this way.  But for me, it has minuses that cancel out it's one plus - it is annoyingly fiddly to do, and it pulls the chain up tight. For it to work, you need to use a hook 1-2 sizes bigger than the hook you will use for the rest of your project - this fixes the 'tight' part, but not the 'fiddly' part, and there is no advantage to work into the chain this way for an oval.

The other ways of working into a chain - with the chain-looking part facing you, work into the top loop only - this is what I have used for decades and works for anything.  Another way, which I don't think is common, is inserting the hook under the top loop and the back bump, leaving the bottom loop free.

[tcahill]

Thank you both so much!