Knitting sideways

So, I'm knitting the Sideways Cardigan from Vogue Knitting's Spring/Summer 2008 issue. Ahem. The pattern is a WONDERFUL lesson in writing directions.

As an English teacher, I liked to give my high school students a "simple" assignment. Explain to someone, in writing with no pictures, how to tie a shoelace. "Aha!" they'd think. "Easy!"

Or not.

Writing a knitting pattern is exactly the same thing. You either include every single step of the process, or you lose your audience along the way.

I am NOT a novice knitter. But I find gaping holes in the Sideways Cardigan instructions. I can figure things out because I have a basic understanding of the end result as well as a bag of tricks for fixing anything that doesn't fit together as it should. But REALLY. The corrections page at Vogue Knitting has a marvelous diagram of the recommended shaping for the neck and shoulders.

(Sarcasm alert.)

Note to self. Stay humble when writing knitting instructions and include even the supposedly "understood" steps!!

The good news? I'm working on the front and am on schedule to finish everything tomorrow evening.

I think.