Cross Over Stitch Conundrum

[hopefulcrafting]

Hello! I recently learned the cross over stitch. I'm having some trouble though. I started with a ch 14. I had enough in my rows and it was working out. But then I came to the end of a row and I had one less stitch, so I wasn't going to be able to end the row properly. So I took a bunch out and started again. This time earlier I came to the end of the row and I had an extra space available! What gives?

Second, I'm wondering about the ch 3 at the beginning of rows counting as the dc. Do I do that at the beginning of all the rows? and if the ch 1 at the beginning of rows does not count as a stitch, I'm really ch 4, correct? Thanks to anyone who can answer! :)

[NCcountrygal]

 

[bgs]

First and last stitch placement of rows can be tricky.  

https://stitchesnscraps.com/tutorial-keeping-your-edges-straight/

https://www.edieeckman.com/2019/08/28/where-to-put-the-first-stitch-of-a-crochet-row/

I would practice on a small swatch until I got the hang of it.

[hopefulcrafting]

Thank you both! 

Edited January 13, 2023 by hopefulcrafting