Lace... someone please help the dorky one

[DonnaS]

Ok I'm trying my first lace pattern... and it's fairly straight forward and am going well with it. Here's the pattern taken from knittingpatterncentral.com

Slip the first stitch on every row to make a chain edge. Cast on 33 stitches (over two needles so it would be nice and loose) on a US #3 needle and work garter stitch (Knit every row) for 3 ridges and then begin the pattern -

Rows 1 and 3 (WS) Purl

Row 2 - Slip 1, * Yarn Over, Knit 3 Together, Yarn Over, Knit 1 *Repeat from * to * ending Knit 1.

Row 4 - Slip 1, Knit 2 *Yarn Over, Knit 3 together, Yarn Over, Knit 1, *Repeat from * to * ending Knit 3.

Ok here's where I'm having the problem. Do I purl on all of the odd rows? since it had row 1 and 3 purled? or do I work 1, 2, 3 & 4 and then just repeat 4 until the pattern ends with 3 more rows of garter stitch?


Help lol

[krazy4kats]

The pattern is rows 1-4, so when she says to "begin pattern", you work rows 1-4 continuously; i.e., when you finish row 4, go back to row 1 (purl row), then do row 2, row 3 (purl row), row 4, row 1 (purl row), row 2, etc. until the scarf is the length you want, then finish off in the 3 garter ridges.

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[DonnaS]

Thanks... that's kind of what I thought but wanted to be sure

[ArtLady1981]

Hi Donna,

In most of lace knitting, the WS is called the "resting row"...and is always just Purled across.

The RS is called the "working row" ...and that is where all the intricacies are worked!
(This principle applies to a lot of cabling patterns, too.)

I love the "resting rows"! This is the row where I make double sure that all stitches are accounted for...a "head count" if you will.

In lace, the errors are usually in the "yarn overs". Either one too many, or I just plain forget a yarn over, or two or three! Better to catch my error before knitting my resting row. Within the resting row, you can create a YO when you get to the missing YO...and if there is an extra YO, you can drop it off the needle, and pull out the slack later on if needs be.

To make the "head count" easier, I place stitch markers between repeats. Lace can be so much fun...but I have to prepare for it! And, I don't try for speed with lace knitting. If I speed, then I make mistakes, and lose all the time on corrections...it never fails. I reduce distractions also.

I knit a beautiful icy pink angora lace scarf from my Stash in early January. (had the yarn for 5 years!) It is perfect! I might post a photo of it on our STASHIES thread. I started Stash Busting about a month before creating the Year of The Stash 2007 thread! So far, all I have posted is the Stash Projects completed after we started the thread.

Stash On, Sister!

[of troy]

actually about 70% of lace patterns are 'one sided' (and have purl all stitches for wrong side row) actually its less than that, because many lace patterns have a combination of knits and purls (BUT NO YO's) on wrong side row- these patterns are called Lace knitting.

there are many lace patterns that have YO's on both sides, and these knitted lace are reversible!

but yes, in general, if a pattern says, " Purl every stitch" for all (even --or odd, depending on which row the lace started), you do that!

[DonnaS]

Thanks so much, that helps alot. I've got stitch markers, just have to FIND them now

I've started this about 6 times now... I have some cashmere blend that would be gorgeous with it for a skinny scarf.. not enough of it to be a wide scarf sadly But if i get distracted and lose count of what row I'm on it's hopeless.. then I find a WS on the RS side and I can't just leave it like that *heavy sigh*

I frogged it for the last time last night and chucked the whole bundle into the workbasket in disgust (hubby laughed.. just for a minute until he saw the look on my face he's learning... ) .. and grabbed something to crochet that was pretty much mindless to get my moxy back up. I felt really really defeated BUT!! will do this.. if it kills me.. and it just might before it's over

[of troy]

some help

buy some pearl cotton. (DMC sells it--and stores like Michaels and ACMoore care it. its is cheap.

1 life lines --add life lines.
take a tapestry needle and run it through ever stitch on your needle --have a long length of pearl cotton threaded onto tapestry needle.

now if you have to frog, you can stop at life line (and slide your stitches back on to needle the life line will hold them! )NO dropped stitches, no frogging back to beginning.

add a life line ever 4 to 5 rows! (you can have 2--always take bottom one out, and 'step it up")

2--use the same pearl cotton as markers, cut 6 to 8 inch long peices, fold in half, and make a loop. the loop goes on to needle as stitch marker.

the long tails get caught in knitting and even if the marker slips/drops off needle, they will still be there--in the knitting (those plastic ones jump away and hide!)

if you are working from a chart, mark up your chart.

Use a thin highlighter, to mark where you have your markers. (every pattern repeat, or ever 10 or 20 stitches--what ever works for you.

this way, ever X stitches, you can confirm, NO mistakes..
this add up to error free rows, and error free rows, mean less frogging!

after a few years (or decades!) you'll be an expert, and need fewer life lines/markers.. (but i have been knitting 45 years and still use both!)
(see my blog for proof, even experienced knitters can still mess up!)