Hi Amy,
I was able to finish this project with the help of the designer, Jessica Beels. Here is her instruction:
"Their (magazine) instructions imply that you are decreasing every round after round 6 (since they step up into only one (D) bead at the end of the round). In their revised images and a photo of round 10 (attached) and in my more detailed instructions (below) you can see that you step up through TWO D beads at the end of round 6 (one from the previous row, and one from the row you are completing), thereby avoiding decreasing too fast. When you step up through two D beads, you leave an extra space to fill with a bead in the next round, slowing down the decreases, and and accomplishing the desired shape.
Here are the details for the decreases:
For Round 6, add the B (blue) bead after exiting the B bead from the previous row, as shown, then pass through ONLY the D bead (not the C bead as well) at the end of the round and add the spanning D bead, then (as in the instructions and the figure) go through those two D beads from the beginning of this row and the previous row. In the original article, Figure 4 shows the thread going through both the D bead and the following C bead (from two rounds before) - this pulls the piece too tight. The spanning bead is the same color as and immediately follows the last bead in the round (in the case of round 6, a D bead). For Round 7, the wording is correct, since it is a straightforward decrease, but figure 5 still shows that C bead error. The spanning beads for even numbered rounds should follow the order of the stripes: round 6 = D, round 8 = B, Round 10 = B, round 12 = D, etc."
Hope this helps!
Johna