Quick fix: If you're still on the same row, work the missed decrease now — work k2tog or ssk over the two stitches where it belongs, then continue. Your stitch count will be right again immediately.
What you are seeing
Your stitch count is one higher than it should be, and the lace pattern looks slightly shifted — an eyelet may be in the wrong position, or a column of stitches is off by one. A missed decrease means you created a yarn over (adding a stitch) but forgot to work the paired decrease to remove one.
Why it happens
- Losing your place in a long lace row and skipping the decrease instruction
- Working on a chart and accidentally skipping a symbol
- Distraction while working a complex repeat
Fix it now
- Confirm: count your stitches and confirm you have one more than the pattern expects.
- If still on the same row: locate where the decrease should have been worked (before or after the yarn over, depending on pattern). Work k2tog or ssk there now.
- If you've already turned and worked further: decide if the misalignment is noticeable. In a complex all-over lace, one slightly off eyelet often isn't visible in the finished piece.
- If you need to fix it: drop down the affected column to the missed decrease row. Use a crochet hook to work the decrease by pulling one loop through the other, then re-knit back up.
- If the mistake is too tangled to fix in place, rip back to your most recent lifeline.
Prevent it next time
- Use a row counter and cross off each instruction as you work it
- Mark decrease symbols on your chart in a different color from yarn overs
- Count stitches after every RS row in lace — catch errors before they compound