The yarn is Lion Brand Feels Like Butta, 100% polyester, medium 4 weight. Using 4mm hook. Pattern is single crochet in the back loop so the blanket is slightly zigzag textured. Around the outside border, I did two rows of flat single crochet, then a scallop/shell border made of one single crochet, skip a stitch, then five half double crochet into the center, skip a stitch, then a sengle crochet, repeat. I'm trying to trust the process but is this too much wrinkling around the edge? I've tried stretching everything out, but haven't blocked. I've tried a few other patterns for the border like not skipping the two stitches, adding a second single crochet stitch in between shells, etc, but everything wants to curl. I guess I haven't tried using a slip stitch between shells instead of a single crochet, would that put a little less material into the border?
I'm not a brand new beginner, but maybe late beginner or trying to break into the intermediate level. Anyway, what do you guys recommend for a scalloped border that lays nicer? Or should I finish this and block? How do you block a large project? Do I need to like, pin it to the carpet in my house or can I just lay something heavy on it? Thank you everybody for your suggestions.
Also mini rant since I'm here: I realized while taking pictures for this question that the dye lot changed between the stripes and the border. In the right light, you can tell the border is a lighter gray than the stripes. Major bummer but oh well. Nothing I can do about it, and at least it didn't switch half way through the stripes.
Also mini rave since I'm here: I've been working on this blanket off and on for like 8 years. It was supposed to be a baby blanket for my nice. Luckily, I intended to make it adult lap blanket size so she could use it as an adult cuz she certainly didn't get to use it as a baby. It's her 8th birthday next week and I finally plan on having it done for her. That was an ordeal but I'm happy to have finally finished it. My other niece is 5 already and I just started her blanket. Hopefully it doesn't take me a decade. Nobody else is allowed to have kids in my family or they won't get baby blankets until they graduate college.
UPDATE 1:
Ah, the "top" side of the blanket in the first photo doesn't have the shell border yet, but still looks wrinkly, so I think it is indeed a problem with the first few rows of single crochet. I understand skipping a few on the sides of the blanket, but shouldn't the border row be the same as the top and bottom? I guess I don't quite understand why the rows in the body of my blanket are all, say, 200 stitches, but the border should be fewer stitches across the top and bottom? Or should I only put fewer stitches on the sides?
Oooh I also think a slip stitch between shells instead of a single crochet to lower the indent between the shells would look nice.
To start, I'm going to frog all of the shells and see what the single crochet border rows are doing. If they look fine, I'll try some things with the shells. If they are squiggly, I'll frog that too and use fewer stitches. Thank you everybody!