TL;DR - follow the chart more than the notes. The notes are sometimes wrong in really weird ways. If this is your first crochet lace - STOP. Don’t do this to yourself. Get a better pattern to start with. I also was a crochety female wolf during this time period and as such you will note more snark and frustration in my updates than usual.
The flowers did block out a lot better looking than I had hoped. Overall though the DC section ended up anemic. I wish I had done this is the heavier yarn. Would have been less finicky and looked more substantial in the plain part. It’s an exceedingly long shawlette. I could have started at 8 DC and been happier with the length.
This was an absolute bear to wrap my head around to start. I used a hook size larger to do the foundation chain to avoid a tight chain. After that I struggled with the way the pattern was written.
Basically, in an effort to provide more information, the author managed to make it harder to understand what was going on.
A few sentences about how part A and B worked together would have saved me two hours of head scratching and calling Mom.
Basically if you blindly trust the written instructions and execute them you will not be okay. Chart A is the blue text. Chart B the black. The bold is when you switch charts.
You can follow the charts to help visualize your initial work.
When you repeat rows 3 thru 9 for rows 11 to 17, you end up doing that another 11 times to finish 94. So in the end you will have repeated the 8 lines 11 total times to complete row 79.
I have no idea why row 10 says 6dc in print. The chart is clearly 4dc before the 2dc in 1dc to increase. It’s always increase by one per even row up to 77 so this must be a typo. So basically after you get past row 8 you need to use your brain and ensure you are just DC the correct number after the 2DC increase because the written instructions stop indicating the increases precisely and you are expected to figure it out for yourself.
11-04-2015
When looking at your first few rows, realize the chain four at the end of even rows is the little ruffle edge detail. It’s not s DC that you will be working into at any point.
11-05-2015
Section A , the part that isn’t flowers and is the bulk of the shawl, can reduced to two lines after you start increasing.
Even row (headed towards the shells) 2DC in first DC. DC in all other DC until you reach the shell (2DC C2 2DC). 2c. Shell in previous shell gap.
Chain 4. Shell in most recent previous shell gap. C2. DC all the DC.
11-13-2015
Got 32DC so 12 more rows to get 40. I can’t math, so about 9 flowers give or take?
11-16-2015
Let’s not talk about how many lines I have ripped out. That 10 seconds to check your work every line? Yeah. Do that. I could have been DONE by now instead of on line 34. Again. (again again)
11-30-2015
Lots of moving stuff going on. Packing and selling old stuff, etc. Not had a lot of time to do crafts. Pretty soon everything will be packed until we reach Atlanta.
12-08-2015
The packing never ends. Got through the increases correctly this time after ripping 16 rows back the first time.
12-19-2015
Move from 30 miles from Hell. Rental from actual Hell.
Re-move and break lease hopefully NOT from hell.
Normal people get to unpack for three days. I got to clean.
02-06-2016
Hey you. You monster. I finished that Entrelac scarf cowl thing just to avoid you.
I figured you out. That added Double Crochet back When I should have had 37 DC and had 38.
My line 78 IS 40 DC now, you little f@!?:& B------.
I OWN YOU NOW. YOU WILL BE COMPLETED.
02-09-2016
I .. I made it to the decreases? Really? There is an end in sight?
03-10-2016
It’s not dead yet. At some point I will be done with this apartment. Currently that means hanging curtains before GA summers come beat my cooling bill senseless - and then I’m about done and can just maintain the space.
Right now I’m on row 29 of the decreases - so some progress made.
03-14-2016
Down to 8 in the decreases…
03-15-2016
Just when I thought I’d muddled through the worst of this pattern the last two lines of the decreases are written separately - incorrectly - for no reason whatsoever.
Why have a dc2 on 170 and then say DC 1 in each of the 2 DC on line 171? Obviously if you followed line 170 you would have 3 DC (for no damn reason - it’s not like you run out of lines to do to reach the ending point - which is line 11 of chart B - thanks for leaving out an actual useful thing while including a ton of useless things)
I checked and checked and checked. There is no reason not to continue decreasing normally. You end with four line clusters which is as you begin.
I sound crotchety and bitter, I know. I pay for patterns for clear instructions; well written, proof read, and moderately idiot proof.
I can crank out the most complicated knit piece you desire. Charts don’t throw me, abbreviations don’t throw me. A sufficiently clear crochet pattern doesn’t throw me.
This damn pattern is enough to make me give away crochet hooks after I finish this.
03-17-2016
Finished edging. Need to block for photography.
I dunno if I will go into my knit lace project after this. I might just knit a bulky sweater.
I swear this project was probably not as flawed as I made it out - but a well written project should lead to ‘ah-hah’ moments. All this project did is make me want to throttle the pattern maker. I fully admit I moved twice during this project and had a breast cancer scare in the family.
03-20-2016
Finally blocking. That bath water - that’s the FIFTH WASH. Twice in Soak. F’ that I said. Twice in Synthrapol. At which point I conceded defeat and finished with Soak again.
SHAME. (ding) SHAME. SHAME. SHAME. (ding-ding)
Can we start, as a community, a public shaming trend for this kind of nonsense. Yarn makers need to start selling finished yarns! Set the yarn, rinse the yarn! If you use Chinese or Indian mills do not just assume they will do anything well. You must direct them in exactly how to process the yarn.
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