A couple of days ago, trying to distract myself from my "Cecil mood", I cracked open a ball of Cascade Pacific Colour Wave for a neat little pair of slippers from a pattern I found on Ravelry.
Cascade Pacific Colour Wave is really fun to knit. The colours shift gradually and are very entertaining. The yarn did not disappoint but unfortunately the pattern did - MISTAKES. Patterns with mistakes are very frustrating. I have since fussed and played with the pattern to knit a pair of slippers which I like. I just have to check its math and will then post pictures and a pattern. For now, I just wanted to offer some advice on avoiding mistakes. They are not fool proof, but will sometimes alert you to pattern problems and save you a lot of frustration.
First of all, if you are knitting along on a project, that just does not seem to be working out, do not assume it is you who is wrong. Patterns containing mistakes are unfortunately fairly common.
* I often suggest to customers that patterns offered by a yarn company are usually a safe bet, error free. Helpful advice but in this case I was wrong.
* A second suggestion I often make would have helped, but I unfortunately did not take my own advice. If your pattern is on Ravelry, check the comments section before you start knitting. Many kind Ravellers often post comments about mistakes or problems they have found. When I went back and checked, there were several comments confirming my suspicions.
* If your pattern is from a magazine, most magazines have an errata section on their websites. A quick check before you start may save you a lot of tinking. The same is true for books. Publishers, especially those that specialize in knitting, will have often an errata section.
* If your pattern is from Ravelry and you search back through the designers information, you may often find a e-mail address for the designer. I was knitting a shawl by Kieran Foley. I knit and re-knit a particular row several times and could not get it to work out. There were no comments suggesting errors, so I e-mailed Kieran directly. Within an hour he returned my e-mail with a suggestion that solved my problem. I was very impressed with how quickly Kieran responded. I already loved his designs, now I am impressed with him as well. Check him out
http://www.ravelry.com/designers/kieran-foley
*if you think you find a mistake on a Ravelry pattern, post you concerns in the comments section. Sometimes other Ravelers will respond to your comment, confirming or offering info that helps clear up the problem.
And finally, bring it in and let us have a look. We can't make an promises, but we will try. Sometimes it just takes another pair of eyes. Call to make sure some one is available and bring in your pattern and work. We will see what we can do.
Beth
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