Intermediate? Super simple is more like it.

Clue #1, for me, that this might be a mistake is that all umpteen sizes all start with the same number of stitches. 72. (What is this pattern doing in Vogue knitting anyways? Intrigued, I thought I would try it out.) This is not going to have the same look to it on a 4X as in a small… give me a break!

This pattern is so dull to hook already and I just started last night. Seriously, is a 3dc stitch considered a shell stitch? Granny square stitch is more like it. I thought this maybe a nice top down crochet challenge but I am SO bored already. (And there appears to be no hope for more interesting things to come?)

Oh well… It should be pretty in this yarn and I have nothing better to work on right now! (It will be quick to hook up!) DO NOT be surprised to see modifications to the lower 1/2 and edging on this cardi! Mesh and plain sc … Not sure I can manage such dull looking stitches! There is no schematic so I am thinking that there is likely no shaping to this at all… (My head is reeling thinking of how pretty the next one is going to be when I rid it from granny square hell.) Nope, no shaping. The only shaping is in the sleeves.

* Errata: Row 2, if my thinking is correct as I am not a hooker per se’, should start with a ch-3 not a ch-1. Ch-3 is normal height for a dc start, no? YES!

Waist:
sc, ch1…. not happening!

As this is written, there is no right or wrongs side so now I have to decide which is which. I like the idea of having a back post ridge every second row, on the front side, so this is what I am going to try.

Row 1: Ch-2, sc across, turn.
Row 2: Ch-2, sc around sc post across, turn.

Repeat these 2 rows 3 or 5 times. (Haven’t decided yet.) 3 it is!

Peplum
* Errata: (WTF, Vague Knitting!) They forgot to add the “chain 1” in between each dc on both rows. How can you skip a chain space if you haven’t made one? (Now I remember why I don’t buy this freaking magazine! My mistake!)

So I had to kick the mesh up a notch. dc, ch1 was not for me… so I made a 4dc fan stitch, ch1, every second dc, ch1 on row 1. Row 2: V stitch. Row 3: 3dc ch1 in V stitch spaces. Row 4: dc, ch1 across. Repeated these 4 rows twice. Then one more row 1.

Bottom edging: One row sc, one row hdc x’s 2 and one more sc. (I should have done this edge the same way I did the front edge. I was tired of frogging and starting this part over deciding on what to do. I had rehooked this edge 3 or 4 times. Close enough!)

Edging:
<del>Not sure yet what to do here but am contemplating a back post dc. (The singles on the waist are too firm for the edging and are hard on my hands.) I don’t want the edging to be too busy so this could work.

Edging ended up a row of single crochet and a row of hdc. I did the sc through the back loops of the hdc to get a nice design line on the fronts. (hdc’s have what appears to be a stitch on the front and back like a 2 stitch i-cord so doing the sc through the back made this nice line.)

The fabric was starting to ripple badly after 4 or 5 rows! I ended up trying a decrease on each shoulder every row for 2 or 3 rows and then every other row from then on and it did wonders to straighten up the fronts. No ripples at all… nice and straight. It also gave me a much smoother fitting neck line. (It was far too wide to start with.)

I would have done more rows but I was running out of yarn. I am about 1” away from having the fronts meet in the middle. This is OK. I like it like this. It covers the bashful part of the girls and that’s what I wanted! LOL

12 sets completed. (24 rows. 30 would have been perfect.)

Sleeves:
I didn’t do much on the sleeves. Just one row of the granny stitch with a decrease and one round of sc and a round of hdc. That’s all the yarn I had so short sleeved it is!

My stash tells me that I have 80 grams left! Where? If I can find it, I might add some to the sleeves and the front edge. (Gotta love crochet for that… so easy to frog/change/add to any project!) So where is this mystery 80 grams?