I made a scarf as a gift for a friend, and I wanted to make this handsome, work-appropriate scarf.
The scarf is not the problem at all; the pattern is. As I ranted to a friend on instant messenger shortly before creating this file, "the yarn weight is not specified, the specs for changing the size are not provided; the gauge is inaccurate; the width is ludicrous; the pic of the completed project doesn't reveal the true nature of the pattern which is actually lacier than in the photo . . . etc."
First, let's have a look at the basic pattern information.
First, the pattern designer (who by the way needs to adjust her font so it can better handle italics) specifies in red letters that "basic knitting knowledge and following techniques are expected to do this pattern." No shit. I thought I'd just pick up the sticks without ever having touched a pair before and plow blindly ahead, stabbing blindly at the balls of yarn and wondering why nothing was happening.
Then she offers two different cast on methods. Don't complicate matters. People who know how to knit this pattern know there are different methods of casting on. Let them decide; they will anyway. And just as an aside: Why bother with two-stranded tubular cast on anyway? Like I said, don't complicate matters.
Actually, excess seems to be our pattern designer all over, like that "a set of 4.5 (US7) needles," for instance. She didn't need the words "a set of"; that just makes it sound like maybe they need to be a set of double pointed needles. Also, she didn't need the period after that phrase or the phrase under "notions," but grammar is a whole other rant. (Aside: Perhaps I should start a section of the website devoted to grammar fails. No, no, no—that would suck up far too much of my time.)
Then she says that the gauge is not important. Yes it is. With a basic ribbed scarf or something, it wouldn't really matter, but with a pattern like this one with yarn overs and working stitches together, gauge does matter because knitting too loosely will create a lace effect, and knitting too tightly will make the fabric too dense.
She also does not specify an important point regarding yarn color choice: With complex stitch patterns, the color should be neither too dark nor too light, otherwise the pattern will not be visible. Who wants to work a pain in the ass stitch pattern only to realize it's barely even noticeable? That should be pointed out right off the bat. I'm sure experienced knitters are aware of that, but it's a good idea to post a reminder.
Also, the finished size of the scarf is far too wide. Scarves really shouldn't be more than about six inches unless they're crazy huge Doctor Who scarves. With a handsome, no-nonsense, can-wear-with-a-suit scarf like this, the size should be conventional and conservative so as not to detract from the remainder of the outfit.
Now. On to the pattern itself.
First, any pattern with a repeat in it should include a note of how many stitches the repeat is. This pattern, I learned, has to be a multiple of three stitches. That should have been explained in the first sentence instead of me having to sketch it out on scratch paper to figure it out so I could make the scarf a less ludicrous width.
Then she links (twice) to a tutorial regarding how to cast on/off in the tubular method. Don't post links within patterns, people. Like I said, don't complicate matters. Besides, people tend to print out knitting patterns, and if they don't realize there's a link in the pattern until it's too late, you've defeated the purpose of rendering the pattern portable. Similarly, she should not have said "refer to the stitch guide on page 3." Either post what you need to see at this point in the pattern at this point in the pattern, or post it at the start, bitch. Don't make people flip over pages looking for shit when there's knitting to be done.
And another thing. What's with that pretentious "N.B."? True, I wanted to make this scarf for a law student, but do I really have to use Latin myself? It's a goddam knitting pattern; just put "Pay attention" like everyone else.
Speaking of linguistic kerfuffles, what the fuck is up with that "casted on"? "Casted" is not the correct past participle. Run a damn spell check. I gather from her blog that English is not her first language, but a spell check should have caught that.
Also, the instructions for the row repeats are not as clear as they should be. I thought she should have explained "You will be making knots all the way across except for the first and last couple of stitches" or something. I know that typically pattern repeats are placed inside asterisks, but the way it's written, it looks like maybe the "slip one" is part of the pattern repeat. I figured it out easily, but nevertheless.
Now. On to the stitch guide (which is, as previously noted, on page three instead of at the beginning of the pattern where it belongs).
First, the "make knot" step is slightly superfluous; the knot is basically just a little bobble. I made many many bobbles when I made the knitted Dalek, so I learned all about bobbles. The knots here are different in that you are increasing and decreasing stitches simultaneously, but I thought explaining them as similar to bobbles would have helped explain the step. I would have at least put "preferably experienced in making bobbles" in the pattern instructions or something. Also related to bobbles vs. knots, I couldn't figure out from the stitch guide that the knots weren't quite bobbles in that there were no increases or decreases necessary in the following rows. I would have written something like "So you are decreasing and increasing in the same row—For each knot, you start with 3 sts and wind up with 3 sts" just to clarify.
As a matter of fact, I did. Here is my own pattern for a diagonal knot stitch scarf.