@CAITLINhi the video on the regular colour switch is called "how to read alpha patterns" and the one on the flat alpha technique is called "flat alpha bracelets - beginner tutorial"
@CAITLINhi it says 11 strings because the string count always counts one leading string extra in addition to the base strings. You can look at the dimensions to figure out the actual size of the pattern. The smaller number is the amount of base strings.
The base strings don't need to be super long because you only make knots onto them and not with them. They only need to be the length of whatever you are making and some extra for the ties or the loop or whatever you do to start and finish.
@CAITLINhi I'd say this one is probably a good one to start because it is relatively small but it also has many colour switches which makes it a little more difficult.
Alphas are knotted row by row. You have strings called base strings that you only knot onto. They form the base of the bracelet and determine its width. This pattern has 10 base strings.
The strings you are knotting with are the leading strings. You knot with them row by row onto the base strings. For every colour in the pattern you need one string. For this pattern you would start with the turquoise leading string. The first row is just turquoise knots so you just make a row of turquoise f knots. In the second row the first three are turquoise, then there are four green and then three turquoise again. You do the first 3 b knots with the turquoise string. For the 4th knot you need to switch to green. There are two different techniques to make a colour switch: the regular colour switch and the flat alpha technique. The regular colour switch is a bit easier but the flat alpha technique often gives nicer results. MashaKnots has videos on both of them.
@CAITLINhi that's the loose leading string in the back. Have you made an alpha before? If not I recommend the video on the flat alpha technique by MashaKnots. She explains how to read a pattern and how to actually knot it.
@halokiwi I mean the strings in the middle that are just not tied like for example the outside of the watermelon on the second and third row it’s just stretched and not tied
@CAITLINhi I'm unsure what you mean because there are many lines. The perpendicular lines are the base strings. The base strings are the strings you knot onto. The horizontal lines are the leading string. You knot with the leading string onto the base strings row by row. To make a knot of a different colour you need to switch to a different leading string. The horizontal lines with numbers at the sides are just marks that tell you which row it is. They are for orientation. The diagonal lines are the loose leading strings in the back that you are currently not using.
This pattern is so fun and easy to make! I'm not that good at alphas yet so this one was perfect for me! It literally only took under half an hour to make it 😂 🎉 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍
