Zig Zag baby blanket with double stitch

[sarahludlow]

I've been working on a baby blanket pattern from Bernat baby velvet, and I swear something keeps going wrong. The pattern is called "Crochet cuddles zig-zag baby blanket" and it is a softer zig zag than other patterns. has anyone used this pattern before and run into problems??

[Granny Square]

This one?

Zigzags or ripples are the work of the devil.  Not really, they are absurdly simple but they are SO easy to mess up!  You have to by hyper vigilant and count, count count.  All they are is a hilltop, a downhill, a valley, an uphill - repeat (they might start in a different spot, but the sequence is the same).  The hilltop adds x stitches, the valley subtracts x stitches, and each hillside has y stitches.  I think looking at it that way will help you keep track of the pattern. 

I typed the above before looking at the pattern, and the pattern confirms what I guessed.  It looks reasonable to me.  There is a little bit before and after the repeat that are 'mirror images' of each other to make an 'edge', which is typical.

The repeat from first row is below:

*sk next 2 ch,  This is the valley, it decreases 2 stitches

sc in next 11 ch,  This is an uphill, 11 sts

3 sc in next ch, This is the hilltop, it increases 2 stitches

sc in next 11 ch; This is a downhill,11 sts

repeat from * 

There is a little bit before and after the repeat that are 'mirror images' of each other, which is also typical, and more confirmation that the pattern does not appear to be in error. 

Don't feel bad, I've been crocheting for decades and I swore off ripples after doing one early on and having a devil of a time keeping count, lots of ripping...fast forward several decades and decided to make one for a baby grand nephew, knowing that they were a pain in the neck...and let my mind wander, had to rip back several rows a few times.  Arrrr...  

It might be a bit of a pain, but it might help to put a stitch marker in the center of each hilltop and valley, and move them up as you go (bobby pins make inexpensive stitch markers)