The lace pattern is 24 rows, but with action only on the 12 right-side rows. Furthermore, those rows can be divided into two groups of 6, as the Japanese feather pattern stacks up on one side for 12 rows and then the opposite side for 12 rows. The lace trellis pattern is handy for counting, since the holes alternate right or left with every right-side row. I used a large safety pin placed through the trellis hole on row 23 or row 11. In the picture, I can count holes in the trellis pattern. There are three. My yarn location puts me at the beginning of a right-side row. From the Japanese feather pattern, I can tell the pin is in row 23. Since there are three right-side rows completed since row 23, I can tell I am about to start row 7. After every 12 rows/6 holes in the trellis, I moved the large safety pin up. This made it very easy to count pattern rows without using a row counter. I simply read my work in relation to the large safety pin.
The second thing I did was use stitch markers. I placed plain black rubber markers between all the multiples of trellis pattern and Japanese feather except the first multiple. At that first location, shown in the picture, I used a bright green marker. Since the bright green marker is near the right edge of the fabric, I know I am about to start a right-side row. When you are working any reversible knit fabric, a marker to distinguish right-side from wrong-side is an important aid. The whole set of markers across the project made it easy for me to count stitches on those plain wrong-side rows, and therefore catch mistakes before they became serious problems.
This is also an “ad finitum” pattern, meaning work until you are tired of it or the yarn runs out. The pattern can be stopped on rows 11, 12, 23, or 24. As I neared the end of my yarn, I inserted a lifeline after row 12 or row 24 of each repeat. I knit until I ran out, then ripped back, and unknit to row 11. I worked the slipped-stitch set-up row for the tubular bind-off. Then I worked a second slip-stitch row. I cut the yarn, leaving a little bit of extra tail. Once again, I unknit that last row. Then I threaded my tapestry needle and grafted the “sides” together to finish the scarf. By knitting the last row and then unpicking it, I knew exactly how much yarn should be used in the graft to make those stitches match the size and gauge of the rest of the stitches in the project. Yes, it takes more time. But sometimes the extra time is worth it for the craftsmanship.
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