Confusing Pattern Directions

I suspect this has been asked before, and I just can’t find a way to search it that will help me find the original topic. I’m working on the Paton Summer Top with Venus yarn, found here: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summer-top-27

Round 2 says to place a marker three times (plus the marker I have at the beginning of the round), but round 4 says to repeat its directions 3 times and then knit to end of round. But in order to do the last increase, that is at the end of the round so far as I can tell. Can anyone help me figure out what it’s saying?
Thanks.

Welcome to KH!
There are actually 4 markers placed in round 2, 2 markers in each repeat. These are in addition to the marker on the very first stitch of the round.
Round 4 seems to ignore that first marker and only deal with the 4 markers from round 2.

4th rnd: *Knit to next marked st.yo. Knit marked st. yo. Rep from * 3 times more. Knit to end of rnd. 8 sts increased.

You’ll repeat the directions 3 times more (4 times total) for 8sts increased. Yes, the last increase takes you past the beginning of round and marker 4 but that’s what the directions are calling for. There is no “Knit to the end of rnd.” because you’re already at the end of round and a yarn over into the next. You can ignore the knit to end of round.

Thanks. So I was doing it correctly and just didn’t trust myself… then I unravelled it. And now I’m having issues where my cast on is too tight and because the first row is a purl row, my tension for that row is too loose. Should I try a different cast on method to allow for the purl row, or can I do a knit row before the purl row just for tension purposes?

What cast on are you using? A long tail cast on in one form or another is usually quite flexible as long as you don’t snug up the stitches too tightly.
You could work a knit row after the cast on. It’ll add a row at the neck edge but should look quite nice. At any rate you can see if you like the look.

I think long tail cast on is what I’m using, but I don’t hold the tail while I’m casting on, I just dip the needle under the working yarn twice, once around my thumb and once around my index and then pull tight. So I think what’s happening is I’m pulling it tight to the needle and then as it slides down the cable, the stitch gets smaller because it’s on the cable instead of the needle.

Maybe try not pulling so tight. The barrel of the needle forms the stitch so it shouldn’t change size on the cable unless it’s quite tight. You might also try deliberately leaving a bit of space between the stitches when you cast on.

Hi
Just reading about your cast on being a bit tight.
I don’t like trying to change my tension when I cast on as I feel like it isn’t even if I am attempting to be looser. Instead I use a bigger needle to cast on, often 1mm bigger but sometimes even bigger than that (I occasionally do a few trials on a smaller number of stitches but knitting up some rows like a swatch to see how the cast on edge feels alongside the actual pattern fabric). With the bigger needle i don’t have to try to change tension, I just cast on with what feels right and natural but producing a looser edge. It can start off looking too big and even holey but after knitting up some rows the cast on relaxes and stretches out nicely to fit the fabric. Once I have cast on I work the stitches with the correct size needle.
If you have a larger needle available maybe try this out?

I did read about trying that. How do I switch to smaller needles when working in the round?

I agree that changing tension is not the way to go. One inevitably reverts to the comfortable, consistent tension we’ve worked to hard to develop.
What does work is using your index finger to add space between the cast on sts. In the video, Patty Lyons using the index finger method and also adds a twist for a more elastic cast on (particularly useful for lace). You could try the index finger method to add that space.

You can slip a stitch onto the other needle to sit alongside the beginning of the round stitch and then just start working with your smaller needle. The first few stitches can be a little tricky to hold everything together but you can also put a stitch stopper or point protector on the larger needle to stop the stitches dropping off the unused end.
Another option is to work the first row flat (working off the larger needle and onto the smaller needle) and join on the second round once all the stitches are on the small needle. The little gap of one row can be filled with sewing in the yarn tail when finishing up.

Another way is to keep the needle you want to work with (the smaller) but add a second needle alongside it, holding the two together as though they are one. This can be a smaller needle than the one you want, it is there to make each stitch karger without “trying” to change tension. Once the stitches are cast on you pull out the second needle leaving all in the working needle. This works well for long tail cast on. I don’t use long-tail cast on so I don’t use this method but use seen it.

There are also other ways to cast on, some stretchy, some very attractive, perhaps something to look into at a later date as it’s probably not what you want for this project.

I will admit, I got frustrated with this one and started on a different one but these are all very useful for when I come back to it.
Thanks.

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I seem to have gotten the pattern going now. I did try the extra wrap cast on, it helped a little but my first row did still require being shoved back onto the barrel of the needle. I may look into a different cast on method for my next project.

Thank you guys so much.

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Looking good! This yarn is going to be fun to work with. Please post a photo when you finish. We love to see photos of finished projects.