Oh please help me.
I am by no means a crochet expert, but I can read and I can follow directions, and, so far, for the most part, I haven't met a pattern I couldn't discern.
Until today.
I am trying to make the Ribbon Sprite from NeedleNoodles' free sprite patterns. (She's the woman who wrote Creepy Cute Crochet.) Now, I have Creepy Cute Crochet and have made several pieces. Sometimes, the written patterns are way confusing, but the visual patterns always keep me on track. This free pattern doesn't have any visuals, and I'm lost.
Okay, so I got through the first six rows okay. Then row seven is where I got a little confused.
This is the final product:
This is the pattern (I'm putting the whole thing in case anyone wants to try it - and it's a free pattern anyway):
Row 1: ch 16, sl st in first ch st to make a ring
Row 2: [sc 1, dc 1, tr 1, ch 1, sl st in front 2 loops of prev. tr, ch 2, sl st in next ch] 4 times. flip the work face down and sc around the other side of the chain {12 sts on one side of chain, 16 sc sts on the other side}
Row 3: sc around {16 sts}
Row 4: [sc 3, inc] 4 times {20 sts}
Row 6: [sc 11, inc] twice {26 sts}
Row 7: [ch 6, sc 5 in the chain just made, sc 2 in main row] around {12 [ch 6, sc 5] groups total}
Row 8: [ dc 1 in the first sc of the next sc 2 group, tr 2 in next sc, ch 2, sl st in front 2 loops of prev. tr, ch 3, sl st in the same sc as the prev. 2 tr] 12 times {this makes 12 points}
Row 9: [make one sl st to sandwich the next two points together (this goes through the gap before the first dc of the next point, and through the gap after the last sl st of the point after it), work around 1 point by making sc 3, ch 1, sc 3 around the edge of the point] 4 times. sl st 1 and fasten off
I've soldiered through 7 and 8, but 9 did me in. Underneath here are three pictures of the dress I'm trying to make, so you can see how row 7 made like tentacles, and then 8 did make 12 points, but I have NO CLUE as to what 9 is calling for me to do. Am I supposed to do something with the dress tentacles made in 7? When I tried to "sandwich" them, it pulled the thing in so tight, it barely looked like a dress anymore. I trust you all and your skill very much, and am hopeful one of you can better explain it to me (or, even better, maybe did this pattern and has an idea. If not, I'm going to FO where I am and have a pointy, tentacly dress and be done with it.
Tentacles made in Row 7.
Points made in Row 8. Which ended up ON TOP OF the tentacles of Row 7.
Also, I know I keep calling them tentacles, but I don't know how else to describe them.
Thank you all in advance.