The secret to crocheting straight edges is here. This is my technique to achieve an edge so crisp you won’t even need a border.
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Isn’t it the goal of every crocheter to achieve perfectly straight edges? I know I can’t be alone in my crafty perfectionism 😉
I’ve been crocheting for a while – 20+ years – and for a long time I thought I was doing something wrong because my edges were always wavy, despite working hard on my tension and following all the turning chain instructions I ever came across.
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Of course, blocking is a GREAT way to get your crochet project to conform to the shape you want it to be, but I live for washable blankets and I didnt want to have to dry flat all the time.
One day I decided to “fudge” it to make it work. I kind of considered it cheating, but I was willing to bend the rules if I could achieve a super straight edge!
So, here it is, if I were to offer any crochet advice ever, this would be it:
To get a super straight edge in your crochet work, chain one less than the standard turning chain and count the turning chain as your first stitch.
I’ll elaborate, because there are a *few* little exceptions and assumptions. First, we’re assuming the “standard” turning chain is: 1 for sc, 2 for hdc, 3 for dc, 4 for tr.
That being said, the exception to my rule of thumb: for single crochet, you can’t really get away with chaining nothing. For single crochet, counting that turning chain as your first stitch is the real money maker. (*When doing this, don’t forget to crochet your last stitch of the row into that space made by the turning chain! Otherwise you’ll end up decreasing.)
For all larger stitches, the combination of chaining one less + counting that as your first stitch of the next row is the magic combo. Here is a little table of the turning chains I use for the basic stitches:
| Stitch (American) | Turning Chain |
| Single Crochet (sc) | 1 |
| Half Double Crochet (hdc) | 1 |
| Double Crochet (dc) | 2 |
| Treble Crochet (tr) | 3 |
I find that this method for crocheting straight edges works because it pulls that turning chain nice and taught. I have done this for years and often receive comments on how “neat” my items look. This feels like bragging to little old me, ha! But, *hair flip*, its true!
For me, double crochet was the worst-waving culprit, and has the most noticeable visible difference between chaining the commonly accepted turning chain and chaining one less. Chaining 3 was just too much! If you’re going to test this method out, work up a dc swatch as your first experiment. I think you’ll see the difference most clearly.
After you’ve tried this out, tell me how it worked out in the comments!
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Thank’s for the tip.