Patons Lace and Cable Cardigan

by Marcia
(Florida)

I just started this sweater in size medium. When I got to the end of the first row of the pattern, I had 8 stitches left over. So, I ripped it out and tried again. I still end up with too many stitches on the needle. I am starting the pattern with 118 stitches after the increase in the last row of KP. I watched a lace knitting tutorial on YouTube and I seem to be following the direction correctly. Do you have any ideas what I am doing wrong. To me it looks like the repeated pattern is 13 stitches. If medium size lace pattern repeats are 8 times, that covers 104 of the stitches. Add in the knit at the start of the row plus the seven knit that are at the end of the row, I get 112 stitches. This is 6 less than the 118 the pattern says to have on the needle.

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Sep 25, 2025
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lace pattern problem
by: Ratchadawan

This is a classic lace-math headache — you are doing everything right by checking the numbers! Let’s slow it down and troubleshoot together.

Step 1. What you know so far
Size medium → 118 stitches after an increase row.
Pattern looks like it repeats over 13 stitches.
If you repeat it 8 times → 8 × 13 = 104 stitches.
Add 1 edge knit at start + 7 knits at end = 112 stitches total used.
That leaves 6 stitches unaccounted for out of the 118 you have.
So something in the written instructions is off from your current interpretation.

Step 2. Possible reasons
The repeat might not be 13 stitches — it could be 14 or 15.
Sometimes patterns hide a "balancing" stitch at the end of a repeat (e.g. a yo without its matching decrease written until the next repeat).
The number of repeats might be different.
Instead of 8, maybe it’s meant to be 9 repeats, or 8½ (8 full repeats + a partial).

The edge stitches may not be just 1 + 7.
Sometimes designers add "selvedge" stitches separately from the edge stockinette/ribbed section, and those aren’t included in the lace multiple count.

Increases and decreases in lace may not balance in the first row.
A setup row might use extra stitches that get balanced later, or the increase row before wasn’t actually bringing you to the right multiple.

Step 3. How to double-check
Look at how the row is written — is it something like:
"K1, *yo, k2tog, k3, ssk, yo, k5; rep from * 7 (8) times, k7."
If yes, count carefully: how many stitches are inside the asterisks?
Try writing out one repeat on paper, marking each stitch (k, yo, k2tog, etc.), then count how many stitches it consumes. Do that for all 8 repeats + edge stitches — that will show whether the repeat is 13, 14, or something else.

Step 4. Quick math check
If the pattern says 118 sts total, the lace section likely fits into multiples of X + balance Y + edges.
118 − (1 + 7 edges) = 110 sts available for lace.
110 ÷ 13 = 8 full repeats + 6 sts left over.
→ This explains the 8 extra stitches you’re seeing — the designer probably intended a 6-st balance section at the end (not just 7 knits).

Most likely: the written row has a partial repeat at the end in addition to the 7 knit stitches, and that’s where your missing 6 stitches should go.

Can you share the exact wording of that lace row (just the one line), and I can break it down into multiples + balance + edges for you? That will tell us exactly where those 6 stitches belong.
Would you like me to do that stitch-by-stitch count with you?

Ratcha

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