Question on Lace and Charts

When you buy a lace shawl pattern do you expect to see the lace portion written and charted? Is just charted ok? I will always provide written instruction for thing like when to move stitch markers, details of how the shawl is being shaped, and so forth, so that’s not a question. I feel like writing out an entire lace chart is just too much. One, it makes the pattern REALLY long. And two, it looks very jumbled because sometimes the repeats are very long (or there aren’t any).
I’m leaning toward having just the chart (unless it’s shorter repeats). The written instructions would reference the chart. Say, “Chart Rows 1-6 increase by x sts per row” or “Place locking st marker on center st of row 13 for visual reference. Move marker up on every RS row.”
What do you think? Opinions anyone?

Currently I’m working on the Cutting Ferns shawl for the Shades of Green Collection. I wrote out the first 21 rows and looked ahead… Not looking forward to writing rows that are 200+ stitches long… plus I feel like they’d be hideous to read!

Hmm... I'm not sure if I'm the right person to answer this. Mainly because I have this disorder similar to dyslexia which means basically that I can't put complicate pieces together nor tell details from say, charts. I always need the written instructions. I can tell details from a finished item, but reading a chart won't give me any idea what the finished item is going to look like.

However, my case isn't that bad and there is no list of things which I know are difficult for me, I just have to see things as I go. So far there has been one shawl I couldn't knit, because it didn't have written instructions. I tried to separate different parts of the chart with a red pen, but even that didn't help me. But then when I knitted Ysolda Teague's Ishbel, I used the charts, because they were more clear to my brains than written instructions. Go figure.

Anyway, I belong to a small minority of people having this disorder and designers can't do their work if they begin to think about this kind of possibilities. So, if I buy a pattern and can't knit it, I just accept it. I must accept that there are things that I see differently. I can't stop doing things because of that, or stop buying patterns in fear that it's going to be impossible.

Interesting... I'd like to do an experiment with you and a pattern... if you don't mind lol
How are you finding the Certain Shades of Green Shawl? Going by written instructions? Something like that I'll always provide written and charted. This other shawl I'm working on has a continuing lace pattern that is an awful pain to write out. But I'll do it because it's part of my job. However, I was worrying that it might look like too much of a jumble of code.

Fiddle Knits wrote:

Interesting... I'd like to do an experiment with you and a pattern... if you don't mind lol
How are you finding the Certain Shades of Green Shawl? Going by written instructions? Something like that I'll always provide written and charted. This other shawl I'm working on has a continuing lace pattern that is an awful pain to write out. But I'll do it because it's part of my job. However, I was worrying that it might look like too much of a jumble of code.

I don't mind. Anything for experimental science and knitwear designing

lol ok, I'll let you know when the experiment is ready then

Still had to add that I'm using only the written instructions with the Mystery Shawl. I haven't even taken a look at the charts.

Completely opposite of me. I'm a charts all the way kinda gal. It's easier to see what the pattern actually looks like that way. I think... lol