You know what I really hate?
I hate it when a statement is made, such as "reading knitting charts is simple, and you'll know exactly what you should be doing just by looking at the row below".
Ok — fine in theory.
But in action?
Look at these two charts:
In each of these charts, decrease placement in the knit pattern is exactly the same: each decrease begins on the stitch where the last decrease was, but on the first chart the symbol for the decrease is over the symbol for the previous decrease, and on the second chart the symbol for the decrease is over a blank square.
So no, you are not stupid, and you are not incapable of reading charts, if you find yourself wondering just where the fuck everything goes.
It's a lot like understanding the English language: when we are fluent with the language we know that although the sound is the same, the meaning of "their", "they're" and "there" is understood in relationship with the rest of the words in a sentence.
So too with lace knitting charts: a symbol is read not only in and of itself, but also in relationship to the other stitches in the row.
In the above example, the decreases that follow a purl stitch stack up on each other on the chart; in the chart where the decrease is preceded by a yarn over, which inserts a new stitch into the pattern, the decrease move over one square on the pattern.
This can be seen even within one chart -- this example is from the "small feather pattern" in the Irtfa'a faroese shawl.
The decrease in row 7, like the decreases in the previous rows, starts on the previous decrease, like this:
The arrows point from the stitch in row 3 to the corresponding row 1 stitches, and in row 7 to the corresponding row 5 stitches. In row 7, you'll be using a y/o to insert a stitch before the decrease which has occurred in previous rows, which moves the symbol over one space.
The trick is to use what I think of as "anchors" -- a line of plain knit or purl stitches, the edge of the pattern, a double decrease -- to figure out where the decreases/increases are in relation to the pattern.
Going back to row 7, we know that there will be a yarn over, 3 stitches knit, and another yarn over before we do the decrease. Looking down on row 5, we can see that those three knit stitches will occur in the yarn over that started row 5 and the two knit stitches that followed that yarn over -- which places the decrease as starting on the row 5 decrease stitch.
Double decreases (slip 2, knit 1, pass slipped stitches over, or slip 1, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over) are usually good anchors, like this:
I've yet to find an instance where the center stitch of a double decrease is not the stitch directly under the chart symbol.
It's not always easy to figure out whether the chart means red or read -- but by paying attention to the anchor points, you can figure it out.
This bit from the Princess shawl was one of the most puzzling ones I'd ever come across, but by finding the anchors, I ended up with this: