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I am making a laptop cover, I have the front and back made already, but am having trouble making the side panel the correct length. How do you know how many stitches to begin with to make something the length you need it. I am doing two rows of dc because it needs to be about 1" wide, but 38" long and that is what I am having problems with. Please help Thank you

Hello. I think I need a little more information here. Are you making the front, back, and side panel separate; and then going to sew it all together? Or are you crocheting this as all one piece?
Thanks.

all of the panels are made separately

Hi cmread
To make the correct number of stitches for the length of the panel you will have to work a gauge swatch. You already know you need two rows of double crochet to make it the right width. And you know you want it to be 38 inches long.

Now make a swatch of about 20 double crochet stitches wide and 2 double crochet high. Take a ruler and measure across the rows to see how many double crochet stitches fit into one inch and then multiply by 38. For example, 4 double crochet stitches = 1 inch. Multiply 4 x 38. You will need 152 double crochet stitches to equal a length of 38 inches.