Common Filet Crochet Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Written by the Filet Crochet Chart Builder team · Updated
Most filet crochet problems come down to counting, tension, or turning chains rather than anything advanced. Knowing the usual culprits makes them quick to catch — often within a row or two — so a small slip never becomes a whole afternoon unpicked.
Losing your place in the chart
The most common filet mistake is miscounting blocks and spaces, which shifts the picture sideways as it grows. Work from a printed chart and tick off each row as you finish it, keep a stitch marker in the first square of the current row, and count in groups of squares from the nearest edge rather than guessing. Catching a miscount one row up is a minor fix; catching it ten rows up is not.
Wavy or rippling edges
Edges that ruffle usually mean the row is gaining or losing stitches, or the tension is uneven between blocks and spaces. Check that each block is the same stitch count as a space is wide — typically a block is the dc plus the equivalent of the two chains filled in — and keep your tension consistent across both. Blocking at the end relaxes minor unevenness, but it cannot rescue a row that is genuinely the wrong width.
The wrong turning chain
Filet needs a turning chain tall enough to stand in for the first stitch of the row. Too short and the edge pulls in and curves; too tall and it gapes. For rows of double crochet, a turning chain of three (or sometimes two, depending on your tension) is usual. Keep the same turning-chain height on every row so both edges stay straight and even.
Mesh that is not square
If the open squares look like rectangles rather than squares, your stitch gauge and row gauge are out of balance. Try adjusting your row height — sometimes a slightly different turning chain or a small hook change brings the proportions back. Blocking to square the piece helps, but starting from balanced gauge gives the crisp, even grid filet is known for.
Skipping the block
Filet rewards blocking more than almost any other crochet. Wet or steam block the finished piece and pin it square to open the mesh and sharpen the block edges. A piece that looks slightly wobbly off the hook will usually settle into a clean, flat grid once it has been blocked and dried.
Ready to try it?
Open the editorRelated patterns
Practice projects
Put this guide to work on a motif chosen to match what you just learned.