update on my shawl Drops 201-20 Ivory Dream which I have renamed Ivory Scream … it is going very slowly! I have ripped it out so many times. I have finally finished the first part of the pattern. A.1 and A.2 as well as one height of A.3 - A.8. The next part was confusing ( continue working according to diagrams A.3-A.8, but each time they are worked 1 time in height there is room for 3 more repeats in width of A.4 between A3/A.5 and 3more. Repeats of A.7 between A.6/A.8. I now understand what to do however, something is wrong. When I knit my first kn row 1 of my chart, the 3x increases on A.4 are obviously messing up the mid stitch between the two sections of chart (A.3-A.5 and A.6-A.8) Do I still knit mid stitch as before? When I hit to the end of A.8 after the 3x increases on A.7 I still had many stitches left on my needles. I have no idea what I am doing wrong at this point!! Any clarification would be so appreciated. I don’t want this pattern to defeat me but I am starting to think I bit off more than I can chew with this one.
Yes, you need to keep the center stockinette stitch.
After you’ve knit the first repeat of A3-A8, there should be the same number of sts each side of the center stitch (42sts plus 2 edge sts or 44sts each side of the center stitch). Is that what you have? If not how many sts from A3-A5 and how many A6-A8?
It’s possible to miss some yarn overs and that might shift the center stitch. It should align the entire way up the shawl.
Is it possible that when you began the new repeat you put in 3 repeats of A4 and A7 rather than 3 more repeats? This should be 4 repeats of A4 and 4 repeats of A7. If you misread the instruction you could have 20 sts remaining unworked at the end of the row.
I don’t see any stitch markers on the needle, they can feel a bit in the way and perhaps you don’t like them but they do a wonderful job of helping keep patterns in line.
I would place a marker on the needle at each chart section, initially after 1 st for A3, 10 sts for A4, 1 st for A5, 1 after the centre stitch, 1 after 1 st for A6, 10 for A7, leaving 1 remaining st for A8 at the end.
It seems a bit over-marked initially with such short rows but as the rows grow in number of stitches it is so much easier to see where each chart ends and the next begins. Counting sections of 10 or even 30 is much easier to keep accurate than a few hundred.
When the charts are finished in height new markers can be added into the sections which were increased, A3 ends with 20 sts and an increase, so 21, 2 more stitch markers placed at 10 st intervals from the A4 marker would leave 1 st remaining at the beginning of the row and this would be the single st which row 1 of A3 requires. A4 has then been increased by 2 repeats and the markers in place. A third marker would be placed after the last A4 marker, another 10 sts across, these were the A5 sts, A5 is now back to 1 st. Now there are 3 new A4 sections plus the original, making 4 A4 sections.
A5 is marked with a single stitch, the centre stitch keeps its markers forever highlighting that central column, and new markers are placed on the second half to mark out the 3 new A7 sections, again at 10 sts each.
When the next height is finished more markers are again added to show those additional 10 st chart repeats and reduce A3, A5 etc back down to a single stitch.
Any time you reach the end of a chart you should reach a marker, if you don’t you know you need to stop and see what’s wrong, you’ll get to spot and rectify mistakes more easily.
In my experience DROPS patterns often have mistakes and are very hard to follow. Even though they have designs that I like, I have been disappointed with their directions too many times. I know many fellow knitters who have sworn off Drops patterns because of the poor directions.
Can you look back at one of your lifelines and see if you have equal numbers of sts either side of the center stitch? (Good for you for using lifelines. This is where they come in handy!)
Sorry for my delayed response. Thank you for your response. I got excited when I read your suggestion. It made good mathematical sense given my 89 stitches. When I tried it out doing the A3 X1 and A4 x3 and A5 x1 I had 8 stitches left over before the mid stitch so it is not adding up? I count 34 regular stitches plus the 2 garter stitches = 36 total
I think if I am able to get through this pattern to a finished product, it might very well be my last Drops pattern! I have heard this advice a lot when I tell other knitters that I am using a Drops pattern.
The point of the markers is to help figure out where things go off track, to spot and fix it before it goes on too far, so they are most useul earlier on or for when you rip back to a previous life line where the numbers were correct.
As salmonmac said, there should be 44 st total each side of the centre stitch at the end of the first height of the chart. If you dont have this at your life line then unfortunately you would need to rip back to an earlier life line and see if the sts are correct there.
Once you have a correct row on the needles you can place the markers, then each section is just a small number of sts to count and any mistake can be identified within that particular set of stitches rather than searching across the whole row.
To me it seems overall the misreading is that there are going to be 4 × A4, not 3, and as salmonmac said, a few yarn overs missed accidentally can throw the alignment and stitch count off. This pattern may require counting after each row to ensure the correct number are there as you progress.
With regards Drops patterns, maybe like Marmite some love them, some hate them. I rather like Drops patterns. I find the website easy to navigate and I like how the patterns are set out with an overview and schematic. The Drops team respond in a timely manner to any questions posted too. They also check any errors reported and fix them very soon after reporting so if anyone does find an error I’d encourage them to report it as a question. If a knitter isn’t sure if it’s the pattern or their knitting that has an error then a question on here or a in a knitting group or on the Drops pattern page should help to clear up the question. Drops also offer free, in person, advice in every shop which sells their yarn (you can take your knitting into a local Drops shop if you have one). I have heard of some yarn shops charging a large fee for a bit of knitting guidance.
I don’t see an error in this pattern, the stitch count adds up on the chart. I think you will be able to rip back to an earlier point and get back on track with this.
It would be good to get to equal numbers or close to it either side of the center stitch. A slight asymmetry isn’t going to be noticeable although it will make following the eyelet pattern easier.
Once you’re close in numbers, there’s another way to approach the pattern. Keep track of your rows so that you work the yarn overs at the edges on every row, RS and WS and the yarn overs either side of the center line on RS rows. Then just mark the placement of the lace motif and make sure each 5 row motif is equidistant along the rows and staggered along the columns. Use your knitting to keep track rather than following the charts.
