Divide for neck, and shoulder/neck decreases! Please help!!

Hi!

I am trying my hand at making a sweater, and I am very inexperienced at reading sweater patterns, especially when it gets to the neck and shoulders. I was hoping someone could help explain some things regarding my pattern. I hope it’s one of those things that gets easier once you do it a few times, but right now I am utterly lost.

Just a side note, I have not started the sweater. I like to work out the patterns a bit in my head first so I understand everything in theory before I start.

My question is regarding the part that goes as follows: (this is the front panel btw, the sweater is worked straight)
Screen Shot 2021-08-30 at 7.16.22 PM
I’m confused by what “divide for neck” means. It it referring to the row directly beneath it? or is it a direction in and of itself? If so, what is it telling me to do exactly?

Also when it says “continue dec at armhole edge as before at same time dec 1 st at neck edge,” could someone help me make this a bit more concrete? I’m not even sure which decrease from before counted as the armhole edge decrease, and I’m not sure where to decrease when it says “at neck edge.”

Please let me know if you need more info about the pattern. I would really appreciate the help. I’ve always been so intimidated to knit a sweater through pattern alone, but I figure you have to just try at some point :sweat_smile:

wjl28,
Welcome to the forum! I encourage you to start off by simply circling the size information that is relevant to the size sweater you are choosing to knit. Then, I would do a swatch to make sure your tension matches what the pattern calls for. Then, I would start knitting and following the pattern very carefully, step by step. I would not continue to read through the pattern trying to “picture” what the work looks like. As a newer knitter, it is unlikely to make sense. Knitting is one of those crafts that actually requires that you follow the path the designer has laid out for you (at least until you get a few more challenging projects under your belt). That way, when you get to a part that you don’t understand, you can ask a question on this very forum that is specific enough for these wonderful folks to assist you with. I guarantee you will have a great time learning how to take on more difficult projects. I speak from the experience of tackling my first couple of projects in the very same way. The manager of my local yarn store encouraged me to not read too far ahead and just go for it. I hope this helps and that we hear from you again very, very soon with your second set of questions!

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Hello
I agree with @Claudia1 with everything they said. Make a swatch to check your tension, sounds boring but if you discover at the start that your personal jnitting tension is tighter or looser than the given pattern you can make changes to overcome this before setting out on the sweater. It is as simple as changing the size needle you use and making a new swatch to check it out.
You can get help here if you are not sure how to swatch or what needle size to change to.

I also agree that having some faith in the pattern and just heading into it is often more successful than trying to picture the whole thing first.

Divide for neck. Refers to what you are about to do. The next row tells you how many to work (k2 p1, k1 etc) and how many stitches to leave unworked and instead slip them onto a holder or a length of yarn.
The instructions just prior to this section will have been some decreases at the armhole edge and this is what you are to continue doing as you work the stitches on the needle. AT THE SAME TIME you need to do some decreases at the neck edge so that it forms a lower section in the front to sit smartly and you can get your head in to the sweater.

Your confusion about where the arm hole edge is and where the neck edge is will melt away when you have this sweater on the needles. It will be perfectly obvious where the armhole edge is and where the neck will be. You will be able to hold the sweater in front of you and see exactly where your arm and neck are going to be.

The only thing I’d probably suggest is that if this sweater has lots of lace or cables and if you have never done lace or cables before then it would perhaps be easier to begin with an easier pattern. However, it is possible that you might be very experienced in these trickier patterns having worked them in blankets or scarves before, in which case it’s only the sweater aspect that is new to you.
I did a couple of plain sweaters before trying out one with a more detailed panel, then one which was mostly plain but with a small amount of lace detail, and then I just recently finished a top with almost all lace.

As @Claudia1 said, you can start the knit and ask questions here as you go along.
I found this site around 6 months ago and it is fabulous. Always helpful, friendly, respectful and you get answers pretty fast, often within a few hours, which is amazing.
Just keep asking and you can be helped each step of the way.

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As @Creations and @Claudia1 mentioned, you definitely want to swatch first. However, I want to clarify that once you get a swatch that matches gauge, you should then wet block it (or however you intend to wash/dry the garment) and recheck your gauge. I’ve seen so many people complain about how the sweater that fit perfectly when it came off the needles ended up growing into a huge monstrosity after being washed.

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