Need help with a Pattern Instruction

[Marielan]

I am currently working on making a simple dishcloth but am stuck on part of the pattern instruction.  I have been able to work through row 1 and 2  but when it gets to row 3 I am not sure what ch-1 sp means and not sure what that small set of instructions means on row 3. What does SC in the next SC mean? Or DC in the next SC? That whole paragraph in row 3 is confusing.

I am adding a picture of the instructions for reference. 

Please advise if possible.

[bgs]

When I come across instructions for a row that is long and confusing I write it out one step per row or you could put hash marks to break up the steps.

On row 2 there were places where you made a stitch then chained 1 and then made a stitch.  On row 3 when it says work in ch space it means place your hook under your ch 1 you made in row 2 and make your stitch around the ch 1 as opposed to working into the chain.

Row 3 starts with ch 3.  You then dc into the ch space you made in row 2. Go to next dc in row 2 and make a dc in it.

Looks like there is a photo so studying it will help.

This shows a ch space.

https://www.crochetspot.com/what-is-a-chain-space-ch-sp/

[Marielan]

21 hours ago, bgs said:

When I come across instructions for a row that is long and confusing I write it out one step per row or you could put hash marks to break up the steps.

On row 2 there were places where you made a stitch then chained 1 and then made a stitch.  On row 3 when it says work in ch space it means place your hook under your ch 1 you made in row 2 and make your stitch around the ch 1 as opposed to working into the chain.

Row 3 starts with ch 3.  You then dc into the ch space you made in row 2. Go to next dc in row 2 and make a dc in it.

Looks like there is a photo so studying it will help.

This shows a ch space.

https://www.crochetspot.com/what-is-a-chain-space-ch-sp/

When creating the DC in row 3 and make a DC in the e DC created in row 2, do you mean to make the DC on the head of the DC in row 2 or around the post?

[bgs]

You would make your stitches into the normal place.  Pattern would have stated otherwise by telling you to make back post or front post stitches.

[Granny Square]

^ I agree with Bgs, NEVER assume the pattern does not mean anything else beyond what it explicitly says.  A post stitch has a different name than a plain stitch, a DC made around the post of a stitch is either a FPDC or BPDC.  (front post DC or back post DC)

Patterns can have errors.  From the scan you provided, it appears that it came from a magazine or book that was probably tech-edited, so you have a better chance of it being reasonably accurate than a pattern you found on a blog (magazines aren't perfect, but at least they typically print errata if they find a goof later).

When a pattern doesn't say where to put a stitch (example, it just says '5 DC') it means to put 1 DC into the top of each of the next 5 stitches by inserting the hook under the top 2 loops of each of those stitches to form each DC.

As Bgs said, working 'into' a chain is 'the same but a little different', you treat the whole chain span as you would the top 2 loops of a 'regular' stitch (SC, DC, etc.) by sticking your hook under the chain and forming the stitch around the chain, instead of sticking your hook under 2 loops of a stitch and forming a stitch around those 2 loops of a 'regular' stitch.  The stitch you make around a chain can 'slide around' over the chain, but it usually settles down in the middle.

When I was a new crocheter it was a bit before most people had heard of the internet, and beyond an initial lesson of how to make basic stitches I was on my own.  What worked 99% of the time when I encountered an instruction 'that looked odd', was to follow it literally; for that 1% of the time when it didn't work, I looked at the pattern photo at the spot I was stuck on, to try to figure out what it MEANT and that was enough to get me on the right track.