More help on reading patterns, what from your hook and remaining chains or stitches means. Most patterns start out with a required number of chains i.e.: ch 25, in 4th chain from hook dc, dc across or dc in remaining chains. A lot of patterns leave out, in my opinion, how many does that mean? Some patterns do tell you how many you need i.e.: ch 25, in 4th ch from hook dc, dc across or dc in remaining chs (22dc) and yes when I started to crochet I had NO idea that by dc in the 4th chain that the 4th chain counted as 1 dc so I spent a lot of time frogging (rip it rip it) getting frustrated and finally ending up ch 26 so that I could have 22 dc. As you can imagine this also created a problem later in the project. 99.9% of the time, when you skip stitches on your beginning chain they count as a stitch (dc, trc, cluster, etc.). Before beginning any pattern, try to read through it and pay attention to any little notes or italic(slanted letters). There may be a total number of stitches noted on rows 3 or 4 so by taking a little time to read ahead can certainly save you hours of frustration. Of course no one is perfec and every once in awhile you will find mistakes in a pattern and that can lead you to creating something new!! Remaining chains is pretty self-explanatory, do whatever the pattern says in whatever chains you have left. Across can be a little tricky, again 99.9% of the time it means basically do whatever to the other end of your work. Pay close attention to what is written because across doesn’t always mean to the end i.e.: dc across next 3 stitches meaning dc in next 3 stitches. Pattern reading does get easier with practice, after awhile you will know exactly what is meant so keep practicing. Remember I am here if you need any help.

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