On the Diagonal

Me and math? We don't get along well, to say the least.

I'm a mean checkbook balancer, and as a teacher I've gotten pretty good at percentages, but when I move past addition and subtraction into fractions or, god forbid, algebra, frankly I suck at it. Big time.

Obviously, this causes problems with knitting. I would rather knit and rip, knit and rip, and knit and rip some more--anything other than figuring out some kind of formula to make a knitted object wider or to distribute decreases evenly.

I've been making squares for Kaitlyn and thought I'd figured out an idiot-proof way of making 5" squares without worrying about gauge.

I would knit them in garter stitch on the diagonal, increasing one stitch at the start of every row until I reached 5", then decreasing one stitch at the front edge back down to one.

Diagonal squares would add visual interest. They have a pretty edge, especially if the first stitch of each row is slipped. Did I mention they were idiot proof?

Except they're not. Two squares came out perfectly, but one, in the palest pink Blue Sky Alpaca & Silk, came out bigger, in spite of ripping 3 times. Plus, one side seems not be quite square. I just don't understand.

I need an idiot proof 7" x 9" formula quickly. I've got some Warm Up America blocks still to go.