Hi! Thank you for being here. I knit a cowl scarf that will need four buttons…and four buttonholes. I have worked eight specific rows until the garment measures 23 inches. Then the pattern says “The buttonholes are made in each knit section.” There are actually two Row 7 - 9 instructions. I don’t know whether to complete all 8 rows even if it’s longer than 23 inches, and then begin at the “new” Row 7 - 9 to form the buttonholes. Which, by the way, with the yo, are way too small for buttonholes. Or do I stop when the garment reaches 23 inches and then knit the second set of instructions, beginning with the “new” row 7? I have included the pattern, below. Thank you for any help you can provide.
Row 1: k all sts
Row 2: p all sts
Row 3: k all sts
Row 4: p all sts
Row 5: k1, k3, p6, k3, repeat…
Row 6: work each st in the manner…
Row 7: repeat of row 5
Row 8: repeat of row 6
BUTTONHOLES
The buttonholes are made in each knit section.
Row 7: k1, k3, p2, p2tog, yo, p2, k3, repeat from * to *.
Row 8: work each st in the manner…
Row 9: Bind off
Welcome to the forum!
Stop after a row 6. It should be close to the given measurement but a little over and possibly under is ok. In place of the first instructions for rows 7 & 8, work the second set and then the bind off.
Which pattern are you working and what weight yarn are you using? Can you give us the pattern name?
Thank you so much, salmonmac! Sorry for my delay in replying. So much to do this time of year. Anyway, I was trying to look for the pattern name, and I can’t seem to find it on Ravelry, which is where I thought I found it. I tend to “save” patterns to my computer, or sometimes email them to myself, and then they get lost in the hundreds of emails. 
I used worsted weight for the first one I made, and then tried to use a much softer, lighter yarn for the second and it’s turning out all floppy. I should have stuck with the original instruction!