I woke up in the middle of the night last night, and my brain was sorting through short-rows. I’ve been doing a lot of them lately, so that really isn’t a surprise. What my brain was stuck on was why I can’t seem to fully memorize a 4-row repeat of a lace pattern (lace on all rows), involving short rows. I am often asked whether I prefer charts or written instructions, and I am completely project dependent on my preference. Lace is almost always easier in a chart, but this one is bedeviling me!
15 stitches, 4 rows. Seems easy enough. Usually I see the pattern/repetitions quite quickly and so I find the “key” to memorizing and I’m off to the races. But I don’t see the key here. As I’m working this, Row 2 (WS) is the first row, followed by Row 3, the SR 4. This is 14 stitches, plus one. the plus one is at the end of RS rows and beg of WS rows. On Rows 2 and 3 there is a 7 stitch repeat. Without looking I can tell you that Row 2 is P1, (p2tog-b, YO, p3, YO, p2tog) 2 times. Row 3 is (K1, YO, SSK, k1, k2tog, YO, k1) 2 times, k1. Then I know what the repeat is on the WS part of SR 4: P1, (p2, YO, p3tog, YO, p2), p2, YO, p2tog. I was able to do that by setting out the 7 stitch repeat, then I know that I always stop 3 stitches before the end of the row. So the row is actually P3, YO, p3tog, YO, p4, YO, p2tog and I think the problem my brain is having is that it is all of a sudden jumping from a 7 stitch repeat, plus 1, to having to remember 12 stitches. Okay, so the RS part of SR 4 is: k1, YO, SSK, k2, k2tog, YO, k1, YO, SSK, k2, but the repeat is k1, YO, SSK, k1 (k1, k2tog, YO, k1, YO, SSK, k1), k1.
So I hope now I can remember it. This is how I’m going to think of it:
Row 2: P1, two repeats of pattern
Row 3: Two repeats, k1
SR Row 4: P1, 1 repeat, 4 stitches, s-w-s, 4 stitches, 1 repeat, k1
So tonight I’m going to focus on learning the repeats, then the extra stitches on SR 4. I am halfway through the neckband, but I want it to go faster.
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