Beginner's question: Casting on 27, but then being told to knit 31?

#1

Hi everyone!

I’m a beginner at knitting–I’m expecting a baby in January and have a huge hankering to knit some baby booties. As I embark on this, I have come to my first stumbling block, two rows in. The directions told me to cast on 27 sts, knit one row (WS), then told me the following:

2nd row: K1. yfwd. K12. yfwd. K1. yfwd. K12. yfwd. K1. 31 sts.

So, it told me to only cast on 27 sts, but now it’s giving me directions for 31?? I don’t understand! I’m probably making some really stupid and obvious mistake, but I don’t see it. Can someone help me?

Thank you so much!

#2

When you work the second row, you’ll increase every time you bring the yarn forward and knit the next stitch, so you will have 31 after that row.

Congratulations on the baby and welcome to the forum!

#3

A yfwd followed by a knit stitch causes a yarn over which is an increase in stitches. Trust the pattern and give it a try. You’ll see that it all works out.

#4

You will bring the yarn to the front, place it over the right needle from front to back, then knit the next stitch as usual. If you’re knitting Continental style, you might have to hold this yo in place with your right index finger as you knit the next stitch.

#5

Look under the Glossary tab at the top of this page for Yfwd (Yf) and YO. You’ll find a video under YO that may help.