Help! Why Is My Stitch Count Changing?

If you have ever been frustrated by the edges of your work becoming un-even, or you have been having trouble maintaining the correct stitch count, then this video is for you! Most crocheters have had this problem before; it’s a bit like a rite of passage. You are not alone! In this video, Brenda shows you the most common examples of how we lose or gain stitches as we work back and forth in turned rows and then shows us a simple solution for avoiding these problems and keeping the edges of our work nice and straight.

In the second half of the video, Brenda focuses on maintaining stitch counts when working in the round. Working taller stitches in the round can create a lot of confusion regarding the stitch count. Sometimes the beginning chain counts as a stitch, sometimes it does not. This is something that needs to be decided at the beginning of the project, and needs to be consistent or you will not be able to maintain the correct stitch count. Also we need to be sure that we are not counting the slip stitch join as a stitch. Sometimes this accidentally gets worked into, which causes an increase in the stitch count. Brenda shows us what it means when the “beginning chain counts as a stitch” compared to the “beginning chain does not count as a stitch”.

Giving you a better understanding of what it means when the beginning/turning chains count (or do not count), is the main goal of this video, as it will clear up so much of the confusion over where to place your first and last stitches in each row or round.