Confused & discouraged

How-to Questions
1

I’m currently taking my 3rd knitting class. The 1st class, I knit a hat. The 2nd class, I knit a Portuguese fishermans sweater in all one color. I didn’t struggle too much with either one of those projects and had become pretty confident. Now, I’m trying to knit a sweater using two different colors and the Swiss Check pattern. I had no problems with the ribbing and the body of the sweater up to the armholes. Now that I have come to the “shape the armholes” section of the pattern, I’ve lost all my confidence and I’ve become quite discouraged. I have to work raglan decreases as follows:

Row 1: K1, SSK, work even to last 3 stitches, K2tog, K1
Row 2: P2, work even to last 2 stitches, P2.

My teacher explained that “work even to…” means to work the pattern. She warned me to make sure that I resume the pattern in the right place after K1, SSK, etc. She said the pattern will no longer start at the beginning. She keeps saying, "Make sure you learn your pattern."
I have no idea how to “learn my pattern” or where to begin in the pattern after K1, SSK.
Does anyone have any advice? Perhaps this is too complicated for me…

2

What kind of pattern or texture are you doing? Is it possible to link so we can see it?

3

One way to keep track if it’s difficult for you to just see what you’re supposed to do next, is to mark off the stitches from the chart after you’ve decreased.

When your teacher said to learn the pattern, it’s just a visual thing. If all along you’ve been working two colors

XXOOOXXOOOXXOOOXX and you decrease on each edge, you can just look at the knitting itself to see if an X belongs in that spot or an O.

Another very good way to keep track in a color pattern is to check the row you just did against the current one as you go.