I feel like this is painfully obvious and it’s going right over my head, but;
I’m trying to double knit a phoenix pattern and for the life of me I keep messing up the pattern once I get to a new row.
I can’t tell which way I’m supposed to follow the pattern.
The first row is last row right to left but the next row…is it right to left again or left to right?
The pattern is not the same on both halves and I can’t seem to find any direction when it comes to patterns that aren’t squares or something that’s the same regardless of which direction you go…
Here is the chart I am trying to use:

this pattern shows every row of your design.
so when you knit a flat piece:
bottom most row from right to left
next row up from left to right (back that way)
r to l again
l to r again
it helps to write the numbers on the rows. odd rows: r to l, even l to r
I write the numbers on the sides I start the rows from (odd numbers on the right, even numbers on the left)
If you would knit in rounds, then all rows would go from right to left. But don’t worry about that.
you DO know that in double knitting (as in: 2 colors, 2 layers of stochinette) you use the colors according to the side you are on: if your main color is white and your pattern color is black (e.g.) then on the other side of your work that is reversed…
In this pattern I would mentally say to myself: background color for the white squares (you can see that in your work easily) and flower color for the black squares.
that is a bit the confusing part in double knitting, but it produces all the effect.