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.
