Hi everyone,
I am knitting a Circle of Love vintage shawl for the first time with 3ply on 5mm needles.
I have just finished the first section and was about to start on the border but have realised I’m 100 stitches too short.
Does anyone know why this would be and how I fix it so I can move on to the next part?
Thanks in advance!
Jane.
Hello
Could you post a link to the pattern or where it can be bought please?
There may have been some increases in the instruction which you might have overlooked. Can you type out a line or two of the section you have done so we can see where the problem may be?
How many stitches did you start with?
Hi @Creations thanks for replying so quickly!!
I have posted the pattern.
I started with 8 stitches.
I completed the first part which is before the Border.
This is what I have done so far -
Cast on 8 sts.
Ist row-K, working into back of sts.
2nd row—* Yfwd, K1; rep from * to end. 3rd a n d a l t rows-
K-. 4th row- *Yfwd, K2; rep from *to end. 6th row —Yfwd,K3;repfromtoend. Continue in this manner until the row " * Yfwd, K35; rep from * to end" has been worked (288 sts).
Hope you can help x
What a pretty shawl! You should have been increasing by 8 stitches on every even-numbered row, with those Yfwds. Here’s a picture that shows the center better; does yours look like this? 
That’s a lot of stitches to be off. My first thought is, have you actually completed the main part before the border or do you need to keep on knitting? Second thought, you’re probably missing some yo’s (each yfwd equates to a yo). Maybe both?
If you lay your work out will it smooth into a circle? If not I think you’ve not got enough increases.
How did you find that? I couldn’t even find the pattern earlier, then my coffee was ready and I forgot to keep looking.
It may help if you post a photo of your shawl so far. You can put some sts on scrap yarn or a spare circular needle if you need to so that they will be spread out.
You should be adding 8sts each round. After row 70 you’ll have 288sts.
(also on Ravelry)
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/circular-shawl-13
Hi @GrumpyGramma and @ColoCro… thanks for your replies!
This is the first pattern I have knitted from myself so it’s been a steep learning curve!
I also thought maybe I haven’t knitted up to where I should be on the pattern but I am up to K35 part so I should have enough stitches.
That picture is the exact shawl! My Mum knitted one for my daughters and now I’m trying to knit one for my daughter’s children but my Mum isn’t with us any more to ask for help so I’m self teaching!
The centre does look similar to the picture with the holes but much much smaller so I’m very confused as to why. I think maybe I have read the pattern wrong. I’ve attached how I have been tracking the rows I have been doing. Does this makes sense?
There’s a few mistakes in it so I’m happy to start again but I’m concerned the same thing will happen again if I don’t figure out where I went wrong this time.
I’ll post a pic of the shawl so far xx
I think I may have got the 2nd row wrong and not done enough Yfwd’s. I think there should be 8 but my knitting only has 4. Does this make sense as to why it might have gone wrong?
Don’t you need to make in a circle with 8 section?
Not having 8 yarn overs per row could well be the problem. There will be 8 sections with 8 yarn overs. Putting in markers will be a big help at keeping track of the placement of the yarn overs and a reminder to work each one.
(ZKOhio, the pattern is written for back and forth although knitting in a circle would probably make it easier and eliminate seaming at the end. I immediately assumed knitting in rounds.)
Thanks for all the info and photos.
It may be possible you are working the yfwd incorrectly because many tutorials show yfwd followed by a knit stitch and actually the knit stitch is not part of a yfwd. This could be why you have only 4 rather than 8. If you have 8 stitches and work yfwd, k, k , you’ll only get 4.
So, the yfwd is only moving the yarn between the needles to the front, that’s it.
The next part, the knit, means the yarn goes over the needle I to position to knit, then knit 1.
This way you will produce 8 yarn overs which are 8 new stitches.
Could this be it?
This could be it. Where it says YFWD K4 for example I have been knitting YFWD on its own followed by 4 knit stitches. Is this wrong?
I have also worked out how many stitches there should be at the end of the section I have done and it doesn’t add up to the amount written on the pattern. So I am even more confused. 
I believe you knit it in one complete section except for the edging.
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/circular-shawl-13
Take a look at some of the Ravelry projects which show examples of the inner circle. For example, where it says YFWD k4, bring the yarn from back to front between the needles then bring the yarn strand over the right needle to the back and k4.
This same will hold true in later rows, yarn over the needle then to the back and knit 5 and repeat around. Next row yarn over the needle then to the back and knit 6 and so on.
You should have 8 sections separated by yarn overs. Markers between sections will help keep you on track.
I think if you have identified that the early row has only 4 sections or yarn overs rather than 8, I would undo and start over.
Your chart to keep track is a good idea. Check you have the right number of stitches on each section for each row. Ie 8 at the cast on, 16 after the first set of yarn over increases, 24 after the next set. You can add these stitch counts to your chart and tick off as you check.
Using markers as salmonmac mentioned would also help especially when the stitch count gets bigger as you would then see which section did not have its correct number and can work back to that part to correct it before moving on (we can help if you identify an error and need to go back on the row) so that an error does not magnify as the blanket grows.
Do you have stitch markers to put on your needle between the stitches? Most knitters use them to help keep track of things. Scrap yarn knotted into a ring will do.
The pattern has the yfwd (or yarn over) right at the start of the row, you need to not miss that one out, it can feel a little strange at the start of a row.
Thanks, this website is interesting. The shawl is the same but the pattern is a little different.
Yeah I think that is the problem so I’ve started again and I’m still only getting 12 stitches after row 2, so I think I’m either reading the pattern wrong or not doing the yarn over correctly to get the right number of stitches.
