really confused :( i don't like it lol

[Denise Anderson]

hi,

 

i am a beginner and have jumped in lol and i have a pattern but i am a bit confused by it......i think i am following it correctly but it doesn't seem to be working, i am hoping someone can give me a wee bit of advice with it.......it is a gift for someone who specifically picked it lol and stoopid me said yeeeeah no problem lol i have posted link to this.....when it comes to row 6 i think it doesnt seem to be matching up for me.....i would be so appreciative of any help!! please???? thank you xxx

 

http://www.redheart.com/files/patterns/pdf/928_0561_US_E707D.pdf

[Gingerbread Girl]

Which panel are you working on? I assume the "right panel"? 

[Denise Anderson]

yeah i am lol

[Gingerbread Girl]

I will take a closer look at the pattern asap but based on a quick glance at it I think it seems to be a bit vague on some things which could definitely confuse and frustrate a beginner. One thing that I can tell you without taking a closer look that might help is that the turning chain counts as the first stitch, so you will always be skipping the first dc (as it says to do on row 2) and at the end of the rows you'll want to be sure you're working your last stitch into the top of the turning chain, since that counts as being the last stitch of the row.

[Denise Anderson]

thank you yeah i thought it was a bit vauge.....i can follow it up to where it tells me to dec, then chain then inc........then it doesnt seem to give me enough info on how to do the middle part of the heart then inc, chain, dec to me it just doesnt seem to add up.....i may just not be reading it properly as it is a bit more advanced than anything i have attempted lol i'm silly but i want to try and do it......thank you for taking the time to help me i really appreciate it!!

[Gingerbread Girl]

OK, sorry it took a while. We're doing some major remodeling so time for fun stuff is a bit limited right now. I finally had a chance to take a closer look at the pattern though. Once you get into it, it is not as tricky as it initially seems. 

I went ahead and worked up the first 13 rows to be sure I had it right in my head (sometimes it's easy to over-think a pattern and confuse yourself when it's really simple!) and I actually really like this. I might have to add this to my "to make" list. Which is constantly growing, yet the number of things I finish remains so small in comparison.   

I took a few pictures as I went, I think with some patterns it really helps when you can just see what the instructions mean. Basically, you will be doing a "background" of dc. Before the heart shape and immediately after, there will always be a decrease worked over two stitches ([yo, draw up a lp in next st, yo, draw through 2 lps on hook] twice, yo,draw through all 3 lps on hook) to help shape the sides of the heart. Where there are increases to shape the top, "inc" is just dc twice in the same stitch.

This is just to show where to begin working the second dec on row 4.


Row 5, when you work over the chain 5 and into the 2nd ch of the ch3 two rows down, this is the stitch you will be working into:


And this is how it looks when you finish that step:


This is what it will look like when you begin the 4sctog on row 11:


And when you finish the 4sctog:

This is what it should look like after completing the center shaping of the heart on row 11:


And after row 13, there should be 21 stitches across again and be ready to repeat from row 2:

My sister has told me I am not the best teacher but hopefully that helps clear it up a bit. 

[Afghaniac]

That's a beautiful afghan. I am sorely tempted to make it, and will certainly refer to the help here if I do! Hope you'll post a picture when you're done.

[mattenylou]

Gingerbread Girl, wow, thanks for doing that! What a neat afghan pattern, and so nice that you made it so easy for us to figure out!

 

Thanks! ya gotta luv anyone that's named Gingerbread Girl, lol, cute!

[Gingerbread Girl]

Gingerbread Girl, wow, thanks for doing that! What a neat afghan pattern, and so nice that you made it so easy for us to figure out!

 

Thanks! ya gotta luv anyone that's named Gingerbread Girl, lol, cute!

 

You're welcome! I love being able to help people when I can.   As for the name... I honestly don't know how I came up with it. I know the "ginger" part is referring to my being a redhead. And I like to bake. So that might have been my thought process when I came up with it. No idea. lol 

[Denise Anderson]

ohh thank you so much!!! i will give it a try and if i have anymore questions on it would you mind if i gave you a hollar again?? it is a super cute blanket. i'm really excited to try it!!!! i'm making a rainbow elephant just now lol untill i'm brave enough to tackle it! really appreciate you taking the time to give this a try for me much love xxx 

[Gingerbread Girl]

I'd be happy to help again if needed!   It really is such a cute blanket, I know I don't have enough yarn for it at the moment. I am sure I have enough at home but I'm on an extended "vacation" visiting/helping family with stuff and I obviously did bring some yarn with me but not a lot. I have been trying to find a good place to buy yarn in the area with no luck so far (not even a JoAnn's or anything!) so I might have to order online. Excuses excuses... anything to buy more yarn.