A Matter of Trust

Here’s a question? When, in one’s knitting career, does one decide to trust the pattern? Hmmmm? I’ve been knitting for 6 years and I still try to argue with the pattern and I just want to know when I’ll learn that if there’s a mistake, it’s most likely with my knitting and not with the pattern.

You would think, after 12 repeats of chart 2, that I would know that the designer might just know what she’s doing. But nope, not me. I get to chart 3 and it starts going all wonky and I decide the pattern is wrong.

You may wonder of what I’m speaking. It’s Kiri and I was almost done. I’d finished chart 1 and soared through 12 repeats of chart 2. I know I already told you that, I’m repeating myself to beat it into my head that if chart 1 is right and chart 2 is right then chart 3 is probably also right and I need to TRUST. THE. PATTERN. A little voice told me to put in a lifeline before I started chart 3 but me? I laugh in the face of lifelines. Hah, lifelines!

But chart 3? Things started looking not so perfect. The edge stitches and center stitches were harder to see – no nice even YO K1 YO line ups to guide me and let me know I am in the right place.

So, what’s a knitter to do? I started using stitch markers. Again, I had knit 12 repeats of chart 2 with nary a stitch marker but I decided chart 3 called for stitch markers. And stitch markers? They’re great. They keep that 12 stitch repeat all lined up. But, when you’re increasing along the edges and center of each row, you need to adjust the stitch markers on each new right side row. It took me 18 rows to realize that. Hunh. 18 rows. 18 rows which I blundered through, screwing up the edges and the center to make it work because until I figured out what was wrong (because, duh, it had to be the pattern) I just kept moving forward. What a dumbass.

So, me and Kiri? We’ll be spending some time together and we’ll be tinking. 18 rows. Back to the end of the 12th repeat of chart 2, where there’s no lifeline, because I don’t need no stinkin’ lifelines.

Then we’ll be moving forward with chart 3.

I want this to wear for Halloween. It’s black lace and all witchy like. Which might just be how I’m feeling about it.
witch.jpg

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This Post Has 14 Comments

  2. I LOVE that pictures — The Wizard of Oz is my absolute favorite movie and I always sob at the end. I have no sage words of advice to offer about Kiri — I’m avoiding lace 🙂

  3. Huh. Maybe I haven’t been knitting long enough, but I tend to trust the pattern completely until it proves me wrong.

  5. Hmmm. Email Polly for some help. I would trust her pattern definitely. I know a lot of people have knit it as well. If it was a published pattern, like Vogue Knitting, I would look for errata—because it seems there are always errors.

    Good luck!

  6. Ouch! I just tinked three rows on Madli’s shawl- I’d need several glasses of wine, I think, to do 18. You’re very brave. BTW- snips of yarn a couple inches long make great stitch markers for patterns that travel like that *cough* not that I have any experience with that… *ahem*

  7. Hmmm trusting a pattern. That’s a tough one. I’ve been knitting for 30 years and its a toss up whether I think I’m off or the pattern. If it’s a published in print pattern, then I might just doubt that first and check for errata especially if my stitch count is right. As for patterns like Kiri that everyone seems to have done (and yes I cast on for this one myself), I blame myself first if I haven’t read anyone else having issues with it.

    I laugh in the face of lifelines as well. That’s why I had such fun tinking back 4 rows on my Birchington shawl where each was 400+ stitches. Yay!

    Excellent costume choice!

  11. I’m still working on the “following a pattern” step but once I’ve figured it out perhaps I’ll work on “trusting” the pattern.

    I’ve heard that Kiri is a fairly good beginner lace project but just reading through the pattern is somewhat intimidating for me. I’m looking forward to seeing your final shawl and then saving your thoughts on the pattern so that if/when I attempt it, I’ll have something to think about and keep an eye out for.

    (good luck with it this weekend; I have faith that it’ll be done by Sunday night!)

  12. after years of always blaming myself and never the pattern, only to find out there was some editorial mistake, I am now starting to keep an eye out for pattern mistakes.

  13. Um….ouch.

    There’s not really much else to say here. I could remind you that your spinning looks fantabulous! Does that help?

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