Any crochet experts around to tell me where I'm going wrong?

[letthefunbegin]

I'm a beginner at crochet and teaching myself. The pattern I'm following is just to chain 3, miss the 1st dc then dc in each one until the end of the row. I think I must be missing too many or something because I'm getting less stitches each time and the square is slanting in. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

It'll be where you're crocheting into the chain at the end of the line. You're missing a stitch at the end of the row regularly.

Difficult to tell from your photo but looks like you aren't crocheting to end of row. It can be difficult to pick up the last stitch

It looks like you're not dc-ing into the chain 3 at the end of the row. Your pattern will say whether the chain 3 counts as a stitch, but it sounds like it does for the way you've described it.

The chain 3 or 2 at the beginning of the row is to get the correct height for the row and counts as the first stitch (depending on the pattern) so maybe you are missing the next stitch as well? In which case you would be decreasing each row. As a beginner, I would count the stitches at the end of each row and place a marker in the first and last stitch and move them up every row. My first attempts were much worse than that so persevere, you are doing well

Just read other responses. The chain three counts as a stitch, but when you make a stitch into it , it looks different to the other stitches. Count the stitches at the end of the row and check you have the number you are meant to.

The problem is at the beginning of each row I think. When you do three chain, It I'd Just a height stitch, and does should not be included in the first stitch. If the pattern is 20dc to a row count like this. 3ch, 20 dc. I have crochet for 40 years and cannot keep an edge straight unless i count.

I know that some crochet people disagree with this because you get a little loop at the beginning of each alternate row. However if you are consistent throughout it won't matter as the little loop is hidden in the seam or edging.

Thanks all. I'm going to start again tonight and concentrate on counting the stitches. I think I might be both missing too many at the start and not going all the way to the end.

Practice with a smaller piece first, say 15 stitches, then you can work out how to keep the stitch count constant.

You're probably not missing too many at the start. It'll taper in from both ends if your just missing the last stitch consistently because you keep turning your work.

Counting your stitches (and counting the chain 3 as a stitch) will help you to remember that there another stitch to go. It's really easy to miss the last stitch when you are learning to crochet because you can't see the top of the chain as easily as a proper stitch.

Counting the stitches saved me. I definitely wasn't doing the last stitch each time. Now for thev next problem. I'm following a pattern to make squares for a blanket. Each 'square' is 31 double crochets in each row and 14 rows altogether. I'm ending up with rectangles not squares. Is it my tension? Or just the way the pattern is?

Is it too tall compared to how wide or too wide compared to how tall?

Are you using US dc stitches or UK dc stitches?

Thanks turbo and dulli. Turns out that the book I had learned from is UK and the pattern was US . Note to self for the future!