Hi guys! If you long for straight edges when you crochet, you’ve come to the right place. Today, you’ll learn an easy way to create straight edges when crocheting with the single crochet stitch. Let’s dive in!
I rarely use the single crochet stitch, let alone make an entire blanket with it. But when I was designing the Smiles for Miles Blanket, I knew that it would be the perfect stitch to create simple texture. Despite being one of the easiest crochet stitches, the single crochet is awfully pretty.
For the first few rows of my project, I crocheted these stitches normally, but found that the edges of my blanket (left and right side) were jagged.
My perfectionist ways kicked in, and I thought, “I’ve got to find a way to fix this!”. So I tried a few things, and found an easy solution that works every time.
I crocheted a total of 150 rows, and each one was straight. No jagged edges in sight!
To create straight edges along the left and right side of your blanket, place the last single crochet of each row into the side of the beginning chain 1 of the previous row.
Normally, we make the last stitch of each row by inserting the hook under the front and back loops of the first single crochet of the previous row. However, if we do this, we will start to see a jagged edge form on either side of our blanket (Picture 1).
To combat this, skip over “the first single crochet of the previous row”, and angle your work, so you can see the beginning chain 1 of the previous row. Insert your hook into the side of the chain 1 and make a single crochet. (Picture 2 & 3 – You can see how flush the single crochet is with the rest of the rows vs. the single crochet in Picture 1).
To show you in a larger example, we’ll examine the three pictures below. Picture 1 and 2 show the last stitch of each row worked into the first single crochet of the previous row, and Picture 3 shows the last stitches worked into the beginning chain 1 of the previous row. Can you see a difference between them?
I hope this easy trick of working the final stitch into the beginning chain 1 of the previous row, helps you create straight edges every time!
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Other Crochet Tricks that You’ll Enjoy:
This wraps up Day 89 of the 365 Day Challenge. Read and explore more topics in the 365 Day Blog Post Challenge here.
Have a wonderful day, and happy crocheting!
Love, Dayna
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