[FONT=“Georgia”][B][I][COLOR=“Navy”]Hey all,
I have tried a lace pattern, but without much success. I have done exactly as it has said but I have gained another stitch somehow and I think the piece looks a mess with a capital FROG!
Luckily I have done a test piece first (purling, wrapping over, decreasing mid work and following a pattern is new for me). I have taken a picture of both the front of the piece and the reverse of the piece. (ending in 435 is reverse picture). This sample shows a small needle size and a large needle size. Its on my Brittany wooden one! (Gorgeous to work with btw!)
~Phoenix~[/COLOR][/I][/B][/FONT]
Help me!
Lace often has rows with different numbers of stitches because they increase and decrease so much. Are you sure that isn’t what is going on? If it’s not and you actually do have an extra stitch the most common cause is not moving the yarn to the back after a purl so it creates a yarn over (YO).
You’re having a problem with your yarn overs. The part of your pattern that reads (YO, K1) 6 times means:
you have your yarn in the back as if to knit. Bring it to the front (between the needles) then over the top of your right needle so it is now facing the back again. Then, leaving the yarn wrapped over the top of your right needle, knit the next stitch. This will create a new stitch. Do that same thing 5 more times.
When you knit your way back across that row (or purl back? I can’t remember the instructions for your next row)- you will knit or purl that stitch just like you do all the others. This will create intentional holes in your knitting- one hole for each yarn over. The decreases (k2tog) compensate for the stitches added with each YO, keeping your stitch count constant.
There are videos on this site for both YO and K2TOG- go to the Glossary tab and scroll down till you find each one.
Hope all this helps- but let us know if you need more help! 
I think, according to her other thread here - http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=87498 - that it’s a F&F pattern, so the stitch count would stay the same. On that pattern, it’s real easy to get an extra YO or skip a 2ktog.
Phoenix, it doesn’t really look like you’re doing YOs in your piece. Maybe the gauge is too small to show it in your pictures. Try the pattern again… the first 2 and last 2 sts are always knit, then after that:
“[FONT=Georgia]COLOR=Black 3 times, (YO,K1) 6 times, (K2Tog) 3 times, k2[/COLOR][B][I][COLOR=Navy].”[/COLOR][/I][/B][COLOR=Navy][COLOR=Black]
After the edge sts, k2tog, k2tog, k2tog, this leaves 3 sts, plus 2 edge sts. Do a YO (wrap the yarn around the needle) and k1, YO, k1, YO, k1, YO, k1[/COLOR][/COLOR][/FONT][FONT=Georgia][COLOR=Navy][COLOR=Black], YO, k1, YO, k1 and stop. There will be 15 sts now plus the first 2 edge sts. Then[/COLOR][/COLOR][/FONT][FONT=Georgia][COLOR=Navy][COLOR=Black], k2tog, k2tog, k2tog and finish with k2 edge sts. You should still have 22 sts. Then on the next row, knit or purl the YO loops like a stitch, don’t drop them off the needle.
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[FONT=“Georgia”][B][I][COLOR=“Navy”]Hey All,
Thankyou all for your helpful posts.
Abbily -I think thats my problem too. I shall follow your advice and perhaps do another sample thing (?swatch). Thankyou for making your instructions in very simple words.
Suzeeq -I think that the pattern is a fan and feather, (or maybe feather and fan…). I shall try to do a ‘wrap around the needle’ like Abbily suggested.
I also think that I have a problem regarding changing from knit to purl. I feel it looks very messy and looks like it is a knot, rather than nice stitches. Any thoughts/tips?
~Phoenix~[/COLOR][/I][/B][/FONT]
Yes, your pattern is feather and fan (also sometimes called old shale, I think). Regarding changing from knit to purl- make sure you are moving the yarn between the needles. Other than that, it’s just a matter of practice. Tension tends to be pretty wonky until you get some practice and your movements get smoother. Stick with it, it will come.
[FONT=“Georgia”][B][I][COLOR=“Navy”]Hey All,
Abbily -Thankyou! I was doing it outside the needles! That is probably the problem! I shall give it a go.
~Phoenix~[/COLOR][/I][/B][/FONT]
No problem! Let us know how you get on.
I don’t know how you would be having a problem switching between knit and purl sts on the pattern row. Unless you mean on the WS rows, which are knit 2, and purl to the last 2 sts and knit the,?
[FONT=“Georgia”][B][I][COLOR=“Navy”]Hey All,
Suzeeq -I had messed up the basic move of putting the yarn BETWEEN the needles prior to putting the needle in. I was putting the yarn behind the right needle prior to commencing the stitch. I think it looks better!
Another thankyou to Abbily -it works! It really works! I should post some more pictures of my knitting swatch/tester-thing soon. I have been trying Abbily’s method of switching from knit to purl (between the needles) and a new lace design.
~Phoenix~ [/COLOR][/I][/B][/FONT]
Phoenix, I would love to see pictures of your progress. I’m glad it’s working for you!
[FONT=“Georgia”][B][I][COLOR=“Navy”]Hey All,
Abbily -I should be upsizing the swatch later on this evening. It is only one loop of the lacing just to see which size gives better definition.
~Phoenix~
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[FONT=“Georgia”][B][I][COLOR=“Navy”]Hey all,
A quick update on the scarf pattern. I just had to frog a cycle 
:pout: :waah: Mainly because my tension was being odd (knitting a ‘complicated pattern’ (for me!) whilst trying tired and waiting to fall sleep =not good!).
I have noticed that the scarf is getting wider (but the stitch count remains the same), any helpful hints on making the size smaller but not changing the stitch count. Also, any hints on maintaining the same tension throughout the work?
~Phoenix~ [/COLOR][/I][/B][/FONT]
Even tension just comes with practice and that’s probably what’s happened; you’re getting more relaxed with knitting, not so tense, and your gauge is loosening up. You can switch to a smaller needle, or just leave it as is and stretch the narrower part by blocking when you’re finished. Or it may be that because of the lacey pattern it only appears to be wider now and could be fine when you’re done.
[FONT=“Georgia”][B][I][COLOR=“Navy”]Hey All,
Its funny how the more experienced I get with the same lace pattern, the more I have to frog. I am now noticing that the lace pattern was better, when I did the first cycle. Now there is no pattern, its just all over holes, and its getting annoying working and reworking. Plus working and reworking with the same bit of wool, with the wool that is now loosing its definition -the dreaded fuzz is taking over the piece of wool and now my soft ?3?4?8? ply ?‘baby soft’ wool is splitting and separating into yarns, adding to the strangeness of the lace pattern. If a few people could be a gem and help me out here, I would be most grateful. (I have frogged the same cycle three times now!)
~Phoenix~ [/COLOR][/I][/B][/FONT]
Help you how? Do you end up with more sts, less sts, what?
[FONT=“Georgia”][B][I][COLOR=“Navy”]Hey All, (thanks for your ‘swift’ response Suzeeq),
As stated in a previous post. I have the correct amount of stitches for the pattern/cycle. Briefly put, my pattern is supposed to have pairs of holes that are bigger than others. There should be 4 pairs of big holes on each side of the middle column. Think of what the knitted version of a twig with leaves on.
Now, my problem is that when I knit, according to the pattern, there is no defined big holes, just the whole bit I’ve knitted looks like a small fishermans net.
This scarf is supposed to be a present. I want to use one piece of yarn for the whole scarf. I’m also a bit concerned of my yarns strength as I have worked and frogged and reworked the same bit of yarn three-ish times now. I just want to have that cycle neat and tidy and how it is supposed to be, so I can move on to the next one, where the yarn is stronger and not separating!
I’m getting really worked up and frustrated working and frogging and reworking, I think the people around me are getting the brunt of it now!!!
So, any suggestions?
~Phoenix~[/COLOR][/I][/B][/FONT]
Take a look again at how to wrap YOs and how to work them on the next row. You maybe going from back to front, which makes them smaller, or knitting into the back loop on the next row which twists them and makes them smaller.
[FONT=“Georgia”][B][I][COLOR=“Navy”]Hey All,
Suzeeq -I have just checked out the video on yarn overs. I was having a problem with yarn over to knit and yarn over to purl, I was trying to increase the tension in an attempt to stop the scarf I am making from widening. Maybe it is the yarn tension that has changed. Also Suzeeq, can you tell me how to widen the narrower part that has already been finished.
Another question or two:
With the current pattern I am doing, the end of the scarf has a coincidental decorative flourish to it (the bottom has a wave shaped end rather than a straight). My questions are, can I do a similar ending at the other side so that it matches? And if yes, how?
~Phoenix~[/COLOR][/I][/B][/FONT]
You can do some extra increases to make it wider, or just don’t do some of the decs. However, unless you know where/how it got narrower, that might end in it not looking much like the original pattern.
The wavey scallops are from doing the incs/decs in the pattern. If you cast off on the row right after the pattern row, it should have a similar scallop to it.