New knitter w/instruction question

That sounds correct to me, Helen. Maybe you could give us a couple more rows so we can try to figure it out.

Katherine

Was there a foundation row that was K (some number of sts), P (another number of sts), etc?

sue

That type of instruction is typical for the even (or odd) rows. Can you give some of the other rows of the pattern?

Tara

How strange the query and answers disappeared and have now appeared. Anyway ...

The first two rows are as follows:

Row 1 (RS): k2, p1, k5, p7, k3; rep across Row 2 and all even rows: Knit all knit sts and purl all purl sts as they face you.

Each subsequent odd row has a variant of the k#, p#

So when I turned the work to do Row 2, I knit when the V (or flat stitch) faced me and purled when the crossbar (or ridged stitch) faced me. So I think what I ended up doing was merely reversing Row 1 (in other words, p3, k7, p5, k1, p2). But if that's the case, why not just say so!

I say "I think" that's what I did, I can't check it as I've already pulled it out in order to experiment with other patterns. I'm quite looking forward to doing this afghan project. It's for the daughter, who is going off to college in cold, snowy Philadelphia.

Thanks for your help, All!

Hi Helen,

Welcome to the group! It does sound as if you interpreted the pattern correctly. I can't say why they don't just spell it out other than that they are lazy :) (or trying to preserve printing space but looks like their Row 2 takes more space than spelling it out). Anyway, as someone else mentioned it is a common instruction in knit patterns.

Good luck with the afghan and to your daughter heading out to college. Philly isn't all that bad ;)

Cheers, LauraJ

Yes, you interpreted the instructions correctly. They were probably written that way because it is simpler to write - and also simpler to follow because you "read your knitting" instead of counting the correct number of knits and purls on the even rows.

Hi, Helen:

Since Row 3 has different variants of the K# and p#, make sure you are following those numbers on Row #4, (and NOT doing "p3,k7,p5,k1,p2" on every even row). In other words, if Row #3 says K1, P3, K4, P6, K4, make sure you are doing "P4, K6, P4, K3, P1" on Row #4.

-- Carey (you are probably already aware of that, but just a thought....)

Hi everyone! I must put my spoon into this soup. At first Helen wrote this:

"But if that's the case, why not just say so!"

And my answer is:

Exactly! I always have to re-write the patterns I use. I have to write it 'stitch by stitch and row by row', as I call the technique I use. It is the only way to make me understand what I should do. Especially if one must decrease more than once, or if the decreases have many parts. But once I have re-written the pattern in a way I understand, the knitting part is easy. Or at least it should be.. This depends much on pattern and the time I must use for re-writing it.

It simply may have looked odd as it would have bunched up. Once you got the border on (or if it was squares, sewn together) it would look different.

I'm working on one now that does that. The pieces come out as diamonds (twice as long as wide), but as they are sewn together, they become square. Totally different look to them.

Tara