this is what i look for in a pattern:

1. will the pattern lay flat? (lays flat)

2. how well is it written? (a few errors. don’t deviate by adding or subtracting rows. no allowances for different number of stitches.)

i quit entering all of the different yarns that i am using in this pattern as it doesn’t matter. they are all cones of lace weight yarn. most of them have no labels. i did enter 2 of the cones that actually had labels. for the rest, i used 3 different shades of medium colored pink, 3 shades of medium to dark purple, and the blues - 1 royal blue, and 2 different turquoise blue shades. (9 cones)

Neck Edge
a few things to take notice - the pattern is written for you to change yarns every row. if you are using the same color then you have to fudge the ends a bit.

i added a dc or tch-3 to each end of the rows. so if there were 14 stitches, then i had 16. the stitch on each end did not count as part of the instructions and i did not work a post stitch on it. it was simply there for turning. (worked wonderfully)

Stitch Definitions
the definition for the puff stitch is on her blog and not in english. google doesn’t translate well.

Yardage Used?
i couldn’t find any place where she gave an estimate of how much yarn to use. i am using cones of yarn so i should have plenty. i won’t have any idea how many yards i used.

First Section
so far, i have only found one error but it was easily figured out. in Row 5, there is a place where it should read “sk (1 puff and 1 sp).

at this point, except for the frustration of trying to figure out how to turn the rows, it’s been a pretty doable set of instructions. pretty easy to follow. i just don’t feel like cutting my yarn every row. It is laying flat at this point.

Colors
i am going to try some color changing just for fun.

i substituted 1 purple for a pink in Row 23, again in Row 24, and again in Row 25. Row 25 starts the middle section so i was purple by then.

for the last section, i substituted the Royal blue for a purple in Rows 38-40, a turquoise blue for a purple in Rows 41-44, the last turquoise blue for the last purple in Row 45 (the repeat Row 12) and to the end of the shawl.

the neck edge is in the 3 shades of purple.

Hook Size (May 8)
i am almost finished with the first section and am going to frog it. the work is too dense with a G hook (4 mm) i want this to be a shawl and not a table mat. i am going to try with a larger hook and try for something a bit more flexible. (hind sight, i might have tried a J hook.)

Middle Section (second small error)
Row 25 - continued extra tch-3 and last dc for this row. Error at beginning of row, should be [SSdc, ch1, dc] into 1st st, ch 1, sk ch2-sp, …

This is how the end of Row 25 reads and so the extra ch-1 sp should be at the beginning, too.

i added one extra set of Rows 28-29. i have had to frog back to this section and remove my extra set. the stitches don’t line up for the fans in the last section if you deviate. Ignore any instructions that tell you that you can change the size of this middle section.

not sure if you can make the first section larger and end up with the right number of stitches when you finally get to the last section. i don’t feel like trying to find out.

Row 26 - i stopped with the extra turning stitches for this section because they weren’t needed.

Last Section
I started the color change On Row 38. see Color section above for what i did.

Row 39 - i worked with ch 1 spaces on each end. i removed the ch-2 spaces because they made no sense and made the pattern look funny.

Row 40
this is a bit of an odd row. after stumbling through it, i did the following.

my general impression is that she is trying to repeat her instructions for Row 26. so i am going to re-do Row 39 with all ch-1 sps and then substitute Row 26 instructions for Row 40. this worked perfectly.

Row 41
I added back the extra dc on each end of the row (for turning) that doesn’t count towards the instructions.

Do Not Deviate from the exact numbers of rows. (regardless of what the pattern says)
Okay …. i am going to have to frog back and remove my extra set of middle rows because there are no allowances in the instructions for doing that. you MUST work the exact amount of rows so that your stitches line up. unless you can work out how to adjust the stitch count later…..

Her last instructions say that you can repeat rows 41-44 as many times as you want. i think you should disregard that after you reach Row 44. if you wish to have the pattern repeat itself then repeat Rows 9-12 at this point as many times as you want.

i believe this is what she did when i peer at her pictures. Rows 41-44 do NOT take into account any FPsc around the puff stitches. so the real instructions are to repeat Rows 9-12 for a wider last section. ending on Row 12 when you are ready.

Summary
don’t use a lace weight or it will be too small.

use as large a hook as you can without looking sloppy.

add an extra dc on each end of the row for the first and last sections for turning.

Row 39 - work with only ch-1 spaces (remove the ch-2 spaces).

Row 40 - substitute Row 26 instead - it works perfectly.

last section after Row 44 should be: repeat Rows 9-12.

Dimensions
pre block
neck edge - 66 in
center back - 30 in

post block
neck edge - 70 in
center back - 34 in