Expert: Patricia - 8/28/2010

Question
I am making the Inchworm afghan from Herrschners. The instructions say gauge is vital so that the various pieces will match proportionally. In making my swatch, I have dropped down two hook sizes for the width but am still too tall on the rows. Gauge given says 15 sts by 9 rows should equal 4 inches both ways. I'm at 13 1/2 sts but 5 inches for 9 rows. Mostly everyone addresses width but not height. Any suggestions??

Answer
Hi Joan,
I'm not familiar with that particular pattern, but I can tell you what I've done in similar instances.  I like to do filet crochet which uses double crochets in either meshes or blocks.  I was crocheting a valance that had a Victorian couple on it.  However, they were coming out fat and squatty no matter what I did because my gauge swat was too short.  I experimented with various height stitches until I got it right.

What works for me in all of filet crochet now is what I call a half treble, which is between taller than a double but shorter than a treble. You can experiment to find the exact height stitch you need.

If you need clarification, send me the pattern and I'll see how we can adjust it.  

-Patricia