• Ch-2 at the beginning of a row always counts as a dc.
• When working the star-stitch rows, use a relaxed tension to keep from pulling the surrounding rows out of shape.
• Remember to always work into the ch-2, especially when you’re making the first row after rotating your work.
• If you need a visual tutorial for the beginning star stitch and the regular star stitch, I highly recommend this one. The way we make and use these stitches in this pattern is a combination of that tutorial and the Five-Star Marguerite stitch from p. 103 of Crochet Stitch Dictionary by Sarah Hazell.
• In the first row of each star-stitch stripe, you’ll need to work the first and last several star stitches into the sides of the “sideways” double crochets from earlier rows.
• There will be a gap at the end of each star-stitch row. That’s just the nature of this stitch.