Question about following a chart

Hello
In general I understand reading charts but I do always end up with a confusion of some sort.
In this Drops chart there are different sections such as M9, M10 which I’d like to follow for the hat pattern.
There are additional rows between the different marked sections though and I don’t know what those rows are.
M9 has 26 rows but there are another 8 rows between M9 and M10 which don’t seem to belong to either M9 or M10 and are not marked as any other M number.
Are these part of M9 and M10, do these get included in the hat pattern or are they something else and not to be followed in the hat pattern?

It’s probably something really obvious that I am just missing.

Thanks for helping.

According to the pattern, you would knit just the sections outlined as M9 and M10. Skip the sections outside the brackets. You can see the sections used for the hat in this project.
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/sheena58/47-9-childs-cardigan-with-borders-hat-and-socks

That said, the pattern is a bit loosey-goosey about the stitch patterns used in the sweater. Depending on the size sweater, a knitter could incorporate the last repeat above M9 in the body for example. To me, it seems that you are free to change up the patterns depending on what your row gauge and preferences are.

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I just skimmed an image from the link.

The charts are worked in stockinette so you can continue in stst for the rows between the charts.

From @salmonmac comments it sounds like you can use your own pattern (seed, moss, rev-stst, or etc)

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Thank you so much.
Seems a bit strange to have those extra chart rows there. I kind of understand what you mean by incorporating the extra rows on the sweater if wanted. I did have a thought since posting, I wonder if this chart is used for an adult sweater and rather than redo the whole chart they just marked off the sections needed? A possibility.

I think I’ll have a go at the hat, I quite like the style and will use yarns from the “joy jumper” I just finished so the colours match.
If I manage the hat I might try the loosey goosey pattern for the sweater.

Thanks as always for the help

Thanks for casting an eye over the chart OJJ, I always appreciate any ideas and thoughts.

I’ve just been transgering the chart onto stitchfiddle in the colours I’ll use to make it easier to follow (and bigger) and have just realised the photo on ravelry and the photo on the pattern page both show that unmarked section outside if the brackets included in the hat!
There are, what I’m calling bands of squares and crosses, 3 bands not 2. 2 are in the M9 marked secti9n but the third band is outside that section.

So, must be an error on the chart, would you agree?
I’m going to do the 3 bands even though 1 is outside the brackets. It seems to work based on the photos.

Thank you for pointing out to me that inspecting the photos is helpful, seems so obvious and yet I hadn’t done it.

Ugh… ignore me… my usual problem of not being able to count to 3 correctly!!!

I’m wrong.

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Oops… just realised I should have knit this in the round shouldn’t I?
Oh dear.

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The hat looks terrific! It’s no problem to seam it up the side and do 3 needle bind off across the top sts.
Lovely knitting.

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It’s lovely, though, very neat and those colours go very well together. I nearly always knitted hats flat then seamed.

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Thank you.
I feel a bit dim getting to the end before realising it should have been joined in the round!
While knitting I wondered why there was no selvedge stitch each end so the pattern would line up after seaming and then wondered why I needed to join a new colour at the “wrong” end, so I had questions there but it didn’t lead me to the reason until right at the end.
Oh well.
I suppose if I had knit in the round I would have had the issue of a colour jog and needing to overcome that, probably just as bothersome as losing a bit of pattern in the seam.
It’s all learning.

I have really improved my colour work tension on this.

I was considering this. Don’t you think though that it needs a seam across the top to make it lie flat there? To stabilise the squarness of the top edge?

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The 3 needle bind off leaves a seam (grafting would not). If you still have the yarn ball attached you can use that yarn to seam.

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Thank you.
My inexperience shows doesn’t it.
But learning all the time.
I’ve done it! I did a knit purl 3 NBO with 2 colours held together.
It gives exactly the structure that it needed and looks bith hilarious and neat. (Good job my son likes hilarious :joy:)

You’re such a great help.

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Perfect! He’ll love it.

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That’s one thing I can’t do is read a knitting chart!! Good luck with your hat! :blush: