![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ianukSo, I'm making my first afghan and having issues with the pattern a bit. So, I'm going to use this blog with a "ravelry" and "afghan" tag to let people who don't want to read the saga skip it.
I will be showing you guys the pattern and discussing the first 3 rows. I'm using Wool-ease versus the cotton and the picture on the front of the pattern shows a really nice as seen below.
First thing is I think that either the cotton they are using is way bigger in diameter than the woolease (maybe I should have gotten the "chunky") or some things isn't quite right with the scale of the photograph. My color bands do not look that large...they look about half the size and I'm using a slightly larger hook. Also the Ch 121 to start the afghan does not seem big enough to me...maybe 151 would be better. I want a snuggle blanket, not a lap blanket.
Anyhoo to re-write the pattern so crack smoking monkeys need not translate for you.
AFGHAN
With A, ch 121. (See above comment)
Row 1:
Dc in 4th ch from hook (beg ch counts as dc),
*skip next 3 ch, (3 dc, ch 1, 3 dc) in next ch,
(The 3dc-ch1-3dc makes a pretty "shell" which will be important later.)
skip next 3 ch, dc in each of next 2
ch; rep from * across.
This is pretty easy...very clear, but the woolease in the oxford grey was a bit hard to see the individual stitches, so I mis-counted a bit and did not end up with 2 double crochets at the end....they don't tell you you need that but you will do the 3dc-ch1-3dc and then in the last two stitches on the chain you will have the last two DC. This is really important for the next row. Due to a miscount I ended up ending on a the 3dc-ch1-3dc and had to add two more DC in to have them to do stuff with. Lesson: Make sure you count well.
Row 2:
Ch 4 (counts as dc, ch 1 here and throughout), turn, dc between first 2 dc,
ch 1, dc in next dc, sc in next ch-1 sp,
The underline is important...what does it mean??? Basically, go to the ch-1 in the middle of the "shell" and go into the space below the stitch...It seemed weird since I wasn't expecting to "skip" so much of the previous row but this pattern tends to undulate a lot...do not expect nice, set rows.
*skip next 3 dc, shell over next 2 dc,
(WHAT DOES SHELL MEAN HERE??? Didn't we just shell before? Apparently, not. They define shell as
Shell: Dc in next dc, ch 1, (dc, ch 1, dc) between last dc and next dc, ch 1, dc in next dc.
Basically, the 2 DC in a row from the previous row will be the anchor for what they call shell. And they are varying the level of where you put the DC's to make it "pretty". So, DC into the first DC top chain, CH 1, now DC-ch1-DC into the space between those two DC on the row below and then CH1 and DC into the top of the chain at the second DC. It is way more confusing that it actually is. I think this pattern would be better in the "visual form" but I'm uncertain if lion brand does that or not.
Sc in next ch -1 sp; Again, use the space.
rep from * to last 5 sts, skip next 3 dc, dc in next dc, ch 1,
dc between last dc and beginning ch, ch 1, dc in top of beg ch.
You will end with 3 DC, I think, I'll have to go look at it...but it does make sense since you will be at the end and the DC between the last DC and the chain is there... This row makes a lot more visual sense than it reads.
Row 3:
Ch 4, turn, 2 dc in first ch -1 sp, (Again with the space usage)
skip next (dc, ch-1 sp),dc in next dc, skip next sc, dc in next dc,
(this then starts the "repeat")
*skip next ch-1 sp, (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, skip next (dc, ch-1 sp), dc in next dc, skip next sc, dc in next dc; rep from *
Looking as the pattern emerges you get two DC that are separated by a pretty 2DC-ch3-2DC pattern, where to place the two DC's is easier after the first pretty pattern since it goes into the spaces of the shell from the previous row. This was a hard part to get down and I had to keep reading the pattern over and over but when I finally saw what it was doing it was much easier to see and just repeat what I did versus trying to read and crochet at the same time.
to last 2 dc, 2 dc in last ch -1 sp, ch 1, dc in 3rd ch of turning ch; change to B in last st.
Make sure to have your other ball of yarn ready and leave a very long tail 6" or so of each color as you do the pass off.
I will be showing you guys the pattern and discussing the first 3 rows. I'm using Wool-ease versus the cotton and the picture on the front of the pattern shows a really nice as seen below.
First thing is I think that either the cotton they are using is way bigger in diameter than the woolease (maybe I should have gotten the "chunky") or some things isn't quite right with the scale of the photograph. My color bands do not look that large...they look about half the size and I'm using a slightly larger hook. Also the Ch 121 to start the afghan does not seem big enough to me...maybe 151 would be better. I want a snuggle blanket, not a lap blanket.
Anyhoo to re-write the pattern so crack smoking monkeys need not translate for you.
AFGHAN
With A, ch 121. (See above comment)
Row 1:
Dc in 4th ch from hook (beg ch counts as dc),
*skip next 3 ch, (3 dc, ch 1, 3 dc) in next ch,
(The 3dc-ch1-3dc makes a pretty "shell" which will be important later.)
skip next 3 ch, dc in each of next 2
ch; rep from * across.
This is pretty easy...very clear, but the woolease in the oxford grey was a bit hard to see the individual stitches, so I mis-counted a bit and did not end up with 2 double crochets at the end....they don't tell you you need that but you will do the 3dc-ch1-3dc and then in the last two stitches on the chain you will have the last two DC. This is really important for the next row. Due to a miscount I ended up ending on a the 3dc-ch1-3dc and had to add two more DC in to have them to do stuff with. Lesson: Make sure you count well.
Row 2:
Ch 4 (counts as dc, ch 1 here and throughout), turn, dc between first 2 dc,
ch 1, dc in next dc, sc in next ch-1 sp,
The underline is important...what does it mean??? Basically, go to the ch-1 in the middle of the "shell" and go into the space below the stitch...It seemed weird since I wasn't expecting to "skip" so much of the previous row but this pattern tends to undulate a lot...do not expect nice, set rows.
*skip next 3 dc, shell over next 2 dc,
(WHAT DOES SHELL MEAN HERE??? Didn't we just shell before? Apparently, not. They define shell as
Shell: Dc in next dc, ch 1, (dc, ch 1, dc) between last dc and next dc, ch 1, dc in next dc.
Basically, the 2 DC in a row from the previous row will be the anchor for what they call shell. And they are varying the level of where you put the DC's to make it "pretty". So, DC into the first DC top chain, CH 1, now DC-ch1-DC into the space between those two DC on the row below and then CH1 and DC into the top of the chain at the second DC. It is way more confusing that it actually is. I think this pattern would be better in the "visual form" but I'm uncertain if lion brand does that or not.
Sc in next ch -1 sp; Again, use the space.
rep from * to last 5 sts, skip next 3 dc, dc in next dc, ch 1,
dc between last dc and beginning ch, ch 1, dc in top of beg ch.
You will end with 3 DC, I think, I'll have to go look at it...but it does make sense since you will be at the end and the DC between the last DC and the chain is there... This row makes a lot more visual sense than it reads.
Row 3:
Ch 4, turn, 2 dc in first ch -1 sp, (Again with the space usage)
skip next (dc, ch-1 sp),dc in next dc, skip next sc, dc in next dc,
(this then starts the "repeat")
*skip next ch-1 sp, (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, skip next (dc, ch-1 sp), dc in next dc, skip next sc, dc in next dc; rep from *
Looking as the pattern emerges you get two DC that are separated by a pretty 2DC-ch3-2DC pattern, where to place the two DC's is easier after the first pretty pattern since it goes into the spaces of the shell from the previous row. This was a hard part to get down and I had to keep reading the pattern over and over but when I finally saw what it was doing it was much easier to see and just repeat what I did versus trying to read and crochet at the same time.
to last 2 dc, 2 dc in last ch -1 sp, ch 1, dc in 3rd ch of turning ch; change to B in last st.
Make sure to have your other ball of yarn ready and leave a very long tail 6" or so of each color as you do the pass off.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-06-08 08:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-08 08:18 pm (UTC)Oh, found you!
no subject
Date: 2009-06-08 08:11 pm (UTC)Hope I managed to help. visual crochet over the phone is not a fun sport.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-08 08:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-08 10:27 pm (UTC)