dc inc help

[pepperpotz13]

My crochet pattern says:

Rows 5 to 8 – ch 1 / dc around / slst to the 1st dc

Row 9 – ch 1 / ** dc 6 / inc into nxt / rept from ** around / slst to the 1st dc

I've completed rows 1-8, but trying to do row 9 now... For the double crochet increase, is it saying to do 6 double crochet into each stitch? It doesn't seem right. 

Thanks in advance for any help!

Edited November 20, 2021 by pepperpotz13

[selind]

It means to do one dc in each of the next 6 stitches, and then an increase in the next stitch.

[Granny Square]

^What she said about the DCs.  I just wanted to point out 2 things on your pattern that are 'not typical notation'.   

The ** has a special meaning that is related to, but not the same as, a single *. 

" * blah blah, repeat from * to end of row" for example, is a legitimate usage, or '* blah blah *, repeat from * to * 3 times is commonly understood as well; a single asterisk denotes a repeat, sometimes it is just at the beginning and sometimes at both ends of a repeated sequence.

However, there is a different meaning to a double asterisk ** that this pattern writer seems unaware of - it is a place marker, and usually occurs inside a repeat, like *1 X, 2 Y, 1 Z**2 Q, repeat from *until 2 stitches remain, 'something different' in the last 2stitches".  You ignore the ** until you get to the 'until', at which points the repeat sequence stops and you do what it says in the last however many stitches (2 in my example).

This is the US standard for crochet pattern writing, see parentheses, asterisks and brackets section on that page for a more thorough explanation of **.  This is a great site to explore (see menu on the right side) for other info, pattern publishers, yarn companies, hook and needle manufacturers contribute to and adhere to these standards.  Unfortunately, a lot of self published pattern writers don't always follow these rules.