Posh Poncho pattern-reading help

[Guest this caia]

Hi! I feel a bit sheepish coming in here with another question, but... I need some help.

 

I've been making the Posh Poncho, and getting a rather odd result. My confusion is with the end of row 8/beginning of row 9... not the clusters (the FAQ on how to do them is here), but how to join the end of the cluster row to itself and start in on the chains. I did what I thought it meant... as best I could figure out... but it ended up making a weird "seam" in the chained rows. See for yourself:

 

 

<img border=0 src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v84/crochetville/question.gif" />

 

The end of row 8/start of row 9 are described like this: On the final set of chains, only chain 2 and then dc into the top of the first cluster -- this completes your last loop and puts you in the center of it for working the next round.

 

<strong>Rnd 9:</strong> Sc in the loop, ch 6. *sc in center of next chain loop, ch 6* repeat around. On the final loop, only chain 3 and dc into the top of the first sc.

 

The way I interpreted this was, chain 2, dc into the top right of the first cluster, so that I could sc into the exact top. And then chain 6, sc into top, ch 6, the rest of the way around. And then chain three, dc, sc, start over. At first I thought this might work, because it made the first chain of the next row a little higher. But what I got with that interpretation was this weird gathering/seam effect, which can't be what the pattern intended. I'm not actually sure if my problem starts between rows 8 and 9, or if my mistake is in how I join up later rows.

 

Please, if anyone who's done this, (or just reads patterns well) can tell me what the pattern meant for me to do, that would be great. Or, if you could tell me a way to get an even, unseamed effect, even if it's different from what the pattern says, that would also be very helpful. I really don't want to have to give up on this project, since I'm pretty happy with how rows 1-7 came out in the end. (I especially like how dc-ing in the sc and vice versa in rows 3-6 creates openings in the texture.)

[RachelG]

On row 8, what you are doing, instead of chaining 5, is chaining 2 and double crocheting into the top of the same row's beginning cluster. Since a dc is equal to a chain 3, the ch 2, dc is equal to the chain 5's that you have been making previous to this. This puts your hook in the middle of the "chain 5" loop, so that you can start from there on the next row. No additional stitches are necessary.

 

I hope this helps, but if not, I will try to clarify further.