Raised diagonal, maya mesh II, mitered squares

I finished the Raised Diagonal square. It really wasn't very difficult to do once you saw where you place your FPdc. The square is a combination of FPdc and sc. The front post stitches are what makes the "diagonal". Very nice. I used mystery yarn that was in my stash, but I think it is Simply Soft or a similar yarn. I know many people love this yarn, but it is not my personal favorite.

However, the skein was sitting there, and I couldn't move my police box to work on it at the time, so I continued making squares.

Here is the Maya Mesh II. It is on p. 111 in the Complete Photo Guide (link in column at right). This is probably not the best picture in the world. The multiple was 11 + 8 so it was 19 or 30. I chose 19. I should have chosen 30. LOL In order to finish at a dc row my "square" is actually a rectangle. The square was easy to work but I think would have done better in a different yarn. I did add a sc edging around to help it keep its shape since it is such an open pattern. If I were using this in a project, I'd probably add more rounds or at the least add to the sides to square it up.

I also finished a miter square. My square didn't come out square. I think I need to do this one again. Although I came out with the proper number of stitches at the end - the very last row is sc3tog - it is pretty obvious it is quite off. I'm going to have to work this again.

I have another book that has a mitered square in it - Teach Yourself Visually Crocheting (p.158). I compared the methodology of the two and it was the same but the Visually Crocheting book says work a foundation chain of an odd number plus 1 for the tch.  Well, an odd number plus 1 is an even number, is it not? Heh. Am I being picky? I will work 34, since I worked 33 for the photo guide one. .

There are also some miter-square looking squares 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws, and Afghans: Crochet Squares to Mix and Match (p. 89). These are worked in the round so they are different in methodology but similar in finished look. I might have to try that method as well.

In any case, here I am working the mitered square again. So here is the method you need to use. Chain that even number. Your first row is single crochet so you are going to "lose" one stitch, giving you an odd number of stitches to work your rows. You are going to do a single crochet decrease over 3 stitches. This is what is termed sc3tog. In other words, you will insert your hook in the first stitch, yo and pull through, insert your hook into the next stitch, yo and pull through, insert your hook into the third stitch, yo and pull through. Now you have four loops on hook. YO and pull through all four stitches.

[This paragraph revised]How do you know where to start your decrease? That is easy peasy. In an odd number of stitches there will always be a center stitch. You need to use the stitch before and after the center stitch which means you need three stitches for your decrease. Take your odd number that remains after you do your first row (one less than your foundation chain) and subtract 3. In my case my foundation chain was 34. I made my first sc in the 2nd chain from hook, giving me a total working number of 33 stitches, so I subtract 3 to get 30. To give me the same number of stitches on each side, I divide 30 by 2. That means I need 15 stitches on either side. It would work the same no matter what number you choose to use for your foundation chain.

On succeeding rows, you will work one less stitch on each side because you have done that decrease. You will also continue to do the decrease in the center three stitches. Also, you will always chain 1 and turn on each row.

In my second mitered square I have made several changes. First I made the additional chain to give me 33 working stitches. Second, I worked my sc rows as traditionally done, rather than skipping the first sc and using the turning chain as a stitch as in the photo guide. Third I did not go into the back loop as I normally do for my first row, but worked into the chain in the traditional manner. I don't know if any of these things made a difference at all. I think what most likely happened is that I miscounted at the beginning due to the fact that I was watching LOST at the time LOL and messed myself up.

My second finished square is closer to square but still not perfectly square. I am guessing this is probably due to my tension / gauge. 

I was more successful with my third (and final) mitered square. This is the one from 200 Crochet Blocks  . First off, it uses double crochet, which is my stitch of choice. It is worked in a similar manner to granny squares with a 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc in the one corner and stitches to either side. In the final "round" you work 5 dc there. I only went to 6" and jumped to the final round for my last one. It is 6" on three sides and 5 3/4" on one side, so I didn't quite make the goal, but closest I came. :-) Guess this just isn't my square, but I gave it a good chance.

That's all for today. If you work these squares, let me know how it works out for you. I'll probably wait a few days before tackling more squares. I need to finish that police box and I'm also working on hats for the Osmond challenge. I've made one Donnie and Marie hat and three more Maries. :-)


Happy crocheting!