Keep Your Single Crochet Rows Straight
If a flat single crochet swatch starts to narrow or widen, count the stitches in the last complete row. The first and last stitches are easy to miss, and a turning chain can look like a place to add an extra stitch.
Make a short practice swatch
- Chain 11. Skip the chain closest to the hook, then work one US single crochet in each of the remaining chains. You’ll have 10 stitches.
- Clip a removable marker through both top loops of the first single crochet and a second marker through both top loops of the last.
- Chain one and turn. Make a single crochet into the marked stitch directly below the chain. Move that marker into the stitch you just made.
- Work one single crochet in each stitch across. Your last stitch goes into the other marked stitch. Move that marker into the new stitch and count 10.
Repeat the same row five times. The turning chain gives this swatch height at the edge. Count the V shapes at the top of the completed row to check your 10 single crochets.
Read the two edges
If a row is short by one stitch, look for a missed top V at the far edge. The final single crochet can sit slightly lower than the rest of the row, especially when the previous stitch was pulled tight.
If a row has one extra stitch, check whether you worked into the turning chain after finishing the last single crochet. Put the marker through the last worked stitch before turning so you can find that endpoint easily.
If the count is correct and the edge still pulls in, compare the loop size near the edges with the middle of the row. Let the loop rest on the straight shaft of the hook as you make each stitch. If the foundation chain is the tight part, try making that chain with a slightly larger hook and switch back for the first row.
Use the same check on a project
Leave both markers in place for the first few rows of the Quiet Square Coaster. Count 16 at each turn until finding the two ends feels familiar.
For a visual demonstration, see the Yarnspirations single crochet tutorial.