IM ready to toss it all.........

[bruisin]

Ive tried for days, countless hours even to make a shawl for my wonderful MIL.

 

She is like a Mother to me, and I want to make her something to keep her warm (she has MS), and to show her that we love her eventhough we cant come to see her (Im so sad about this too)

 

I have searched everywhere, and apparently Im so stupid I cant learn to read patterns I have tried a million patterns & theres always something I dont get ...see I taught myself to crochet & Im a duntz apparently.....cant teach myself to read patterns.

 

I want to do this so badly.... but I just cant get it.....

 

how in the world can I learn to do this when no one around me knows how to crochet?

[jldozer]

Keep trying! I never understand the pattern at first either. I've learned to use some of my leftover yarn and try a little bit. That way I don't care if the yarn is ruined.

 

Also, try some of the yarn maker websites (like lionbrand.com - also red heart, bernat, paton, caron and probably many others) they have patterns. Many of the patterns are even coded on the level of difficulty so maybe finding an easier one would be the way to start?

 

So sorry I'm not much help but just wanted to let you know that reading patterns does come easier with time and you gotta keep on trying! (coming from someone who also taught herself crochet).

[LaurieE]

Don't give up. I know it can get frustrating at times. I've tried various shawl and cape patterns and they just didn't seem to work out right. I have a shawl pattern that is really easy to make and it's based on the half granny square. Basically to make it into a shawl, just keep adding rows until you're happy with the size.

 

Crochet Pattern Central has a page of different shawl patterns. You may want check out those patterns. Some of them look pretty simple.

[Elvee]

Calm down and take a deep breath. Now look at the pattern you want to use and write it out on a separate sheet of paper with out using the abbreviations. Pattern abbreviations are written as a type of short hand. You need to know the abbreviations to translate.

 

The Leisure Arts Learn to Crochet books are excellent for teaching this. Don't beat yourself up over this, it is a new skill. You have a learning curve. if you can link us to the pattern you are trying to decipher, maybe we can help translate for you.

 

Lorry

[birdlady1]

It sounds like a message I would write! I joined the Katchkan Viceroy Butterfly Shawl CAL and I just don't get it! I've started it three times and threw it out three times. Others on the CAL must think I'm the dumbest thing in the world!

 

But you know what? I"m going to keep at it until I get it right. There's an old saying when it comes to my comprehending some of these patterns:

 

Throw enough s**t at the wall and some of it is bound to stick.

 

Hang in there. It won't be long before it becomes second nature to you (and hopefully me too!)

[tracyleigh]

I recently completed this shawl

 

http://www.techchick.lunarpages.com/trishs_nook/crafts/blue_shawl.htm

 

I have never attempted a shawl before and I found this relatively easy to follow along.

 

Don't give up hope just yet.

[tracyleigh]

Whoa! I just had a look at that Viceroy Shawl....jeepers....I don't think I'd attempt that!!! I'd end up hanging from the ceiling all knotted up in thread......:rotfl

[noQcrocheter]

try this one from bernant

http://www.bernat.com/pattern.php?PID=1465

 

I also have a terrible time reading patters, and I think I can do this one, I made a similar one for my daughter (actually looking at it and comparing the stitches I think it is the same aside from the fringe)

good luck

[mythunderbird]

try and make the one i designed, its super easy, i will send you the pattern in a e-mail as i don;t know if i can pm it or not, its in orginal patterns page one under my name and the title is shawl pattern. it is super easy even a child can do it so i know you can its simply chains and single crochets. very very easy. if you need help with it let me know. good luck i know your mil will love it:hug:hug

[jldozer]

Calm down and take a deep breath. Now look at the pattern you want to use and write it out on a separate sheet of paper with out using the abbreviations. Pattern abbreviations are written as a type of short hand. You need to know the abbreviations to translate.

 

I forgot about that, it really helps when learning patterns.

 

Even after learning pattern language I find it sometimes help to type the instructions up and print them out. Sometimes I find if I type them out line by line and not just after each other with commas it's easier to follow. Cuz I always get lost in where I'm at in the pattern and end up doing something where it shouldn't be.

[RoseRed]

Have you thought about making her a stole. Those are the rectangle shawls. about 6 feet long by 2 feet wide. I actually prefer them to triangles - I have both and find I like the stole's better.

[bruisin]

I am trying those ladies, but Im still a mess. I am sure that I will eventually figure it out....I mean I am a Mom, I learned to tie shoes, and Ive learned the internet...surely this will come too

[Elvee]

It is so much easier to help some one figure out patterns if they are right there with you in person. It is a skill I am sure you will pick up!

 

Lorry

[RoseRed]

why don't you pick a pattern and post a link to it. Then if there's something you don't understand we can be a little more specific about helping you out.

[newthingcrochet]

If you are more visual, it may help to find one with a chart or to take a simple pattern and chart it out.

[bruisin]

I will find one & post it....oh goodness that makes me so happy!

[Coffeywoman]

Sometimes when I have trouble with a pattern, I'll write it out stitch by stitch. If it says (dc, ch1, sk 1 st, 3sc in next st) I'll manually write out this: dc, ch,sc,sc,sc. Then I work it stitch by stitch until I understand the pattern sequence. The other ideas for writing without abbreviations are great too. Keep trying. I'm sure you'll get it!

[Buttercup]

Following patterns can get very confusing and some worse than others.

Keep on going I'm sure with all the above advise you will be doing just fine.

The first vest I ever made turned out to be about a mile long because I was

not turning right and added a couple of squares at the beginning and end of each row!!! Finally got that one figured out after having to "frog" the whole

thing which a woman at work did for me because she didn't want me to give up on crocheting!!

[ErinLindsey]

The two easiest shawl patterns that I've done is the Half-Granny square shawl, and a very large, very skinny afghan-type shawl that I've made.

 

The half granny is just a traditional granny square. You make the center like a traditional granny square, and then the 2nd round you only crochet halfway around, turn, and just go back and forth till the half granny is as big as you want it to be.

 

The second shawl is probably my favorite. All I did for that was chain about 60 or 70, and then just half double crocheted till I decided it was done (it's probably 8 or 9 feet long) I dont have any pictures of that one, but if you look at my blog, you'll find a picture of my half granny square. (sorry, I have no written out pattern for either shawl)

 

My blog address is http://iamtotallyobsessedwithyarn.blogspot.com

[jldozer]

Here's a super easy shawl pattern. I found it when trying to find patterns for our church to use for prayer shawls.

 

Anyway, chain the width you want and then do 3 rows of double crochets and then 1 row of single crochets and repeat the 3/1 pattern until you get the length you want.

 

I then added fringe to mine. Sorry, but it's the one thing I didn't take a pic of before I gave it away.

 

I used Lion Brand Homespun yarn and it makes a very warm and solid shawl.

 

But if you find a pattern online that you want to try give us a link to it. I'm always looking for shawl patterns for our group and might even be able to start it up with you.

 

We'll get this shawl made for your MIL one way or another

[Misa]

Don't give up, hon I had problems reading patterns at first, too. All that "gobbldey-gook" was overwhelming.

 

Just take it one stitch at a time. I found if I covered all but the line of the pattern I was working on with a piece of paper (much easier now with sticky notes) it didn't seem like so very much.

 

Just an idea

[jldozer]

I found another easy shawl pattern. It's in the crochet book by Vanna White. The only stitch is double and it makes a ripple pattern.

[JessyT]

I can understand your trouble with reading patterns. I didn't get them at all until I found a "pattern" for a granny square I already knew how to do. Because I already knew what was supposed to be happening, I could pick apart the ch3's and dc's and really grasp the way they're written. One of the things that really threw me off were the stitch counts at the end of each round. Silly me, I thought I was supposed to do *another* 12dc!

 

Good luck and keep trying! I'm sure your MIL will love whatever you make for her

[Selune]

Make a potholder or something so you can get the feel of where your rows begin and end. Rectangles are the best for just starting out. Next, ask someone on here for a pattern that is easy and most of all CORRECT! I remember trying some patterns as a beginner and never could do it. Going back after I learned more, I realized how poorly written the pattern was and even an experienced crocheter would have trouble. Working in the round just killed me until recently, and I'm still convinced there are 50% incorrect tutorials out there on this, because everything I read was contrary to everything else.

 

If you run into a stumbling block and need a hand, PM someone around here and they'll probably be able to help you. Don't fret, I can still remember feeling like you do when I started. It's worth it in the end when you finally get the hang of it.

[mamarose22]

If you know how to do a double crochet, you could make a simple rectangular shawl. It doesn't have to be triangular, which might be more complicated for a novice. You can just do a chain long enough for the width of the shawl. Then you can do a double crochet in the fourth chain and in each chain until the end of the row, chain 3 and turn. Do a double crochet in the next stitch, (the chain 3 counts as the first double crochet at the beginning of each row,) then in each stitch until the end of the row. Continue in this manner until you think it is long enough. This would be the easiest and simplest way to make a shawl. Hope this works for you.