HELP! I’m new to knitting. I’ve learned how to cast on and cast off, purl & knit. I’m up to the neck and I don’t get it. It talks about knitting certain stitches and then binding off others but they bind off the same stitch twice….a bunch of them. Here’s a picture of the instructions.
Welcome to KH and welcome to knitting!
What is the name of your pattern and designer, and which size are you making, first, second, third…?
You’ve got the basics and this is all you need for the neck here.
Knit the first 11sts for the smallest size for example. Then bind off the next 19sts (that’ll mean knitting two more sts, then lifting the first over the second).
Continue on knitting 10sts not counting the one stitch left on the right needle after the bind off.
Now turn to the wrong side and follow the stitch sequence given until you get to the gap created by the bind off in row 1. Cable cast on 19sts then purl to the last 5sts and again follow the stitch sequence given.
Here’s a video for the cable cast on mid row.
As @salmonmac said, the numbers in parentheses are for the different sizes. You’re not binding off Stitch #19 or #21 twice, you’re binding off 19 stitches if you’re doing one of the first 2 sizes, or binding off 21 for the next two sizes. You might want to go through this section of the pattern and circle the numbers that apply to your size.
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It might also help to count off the sts and place markers either side of the center sts to be bound off. Keep in mind that you have to knit two sts in order to bind off one.
Ahhh, thank you so much for responding. I’m doing the Axel Pullovwe by Heidi May in XL
Here’s what I got from what you said. I’ll knit 25 stitches, bind off the next 25 stitches…it says 25 twice because it takes 2 stitches to bind off 1??? But now do I do what kind of stitch 50 times? Then I turn it, and I think I got everything until the last parentheses. Those last set of parentheses I don’t know what they mean 
Thanks!
I now see from Colocro that the double numbers refer to the same # of stitches for two different sizes.
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Knit 25 for one shoulder. Bind off the center 25 for the neck opening. For your size the two numbers happen to be the same. When you’ve lifted each stitch over and off the needle in the bind off and 25sts have been lifted over, there will be one stitch left on the right hand needle. Then knit the next 24sts.
That’ll give you a center gap with 25sts each side for the shoulders. The total stitch number will be 50sts (25 right shoulder + 25 left shoulder). (No stitches to work here, the pattern is just giving you the live stitch total.)
The last set of parentheses is giving your total stitch count. You knit 25, bind off 25 (don’t count these in the total), then knit 24. I’m not sure how that gives 50 rather than 49, but it probably has to do with the extra stitch involved in the bind-off. And I see @salmonmac has answered that!
Well, you guys are going to get a kick out of this! So I finally had time to delve into this today. I’m cruising along knitting 25 stitches, marking the spot, then binding off the same…..getting close to the end of the binding and I’m looking at what’s left and thinking, “hang on….that looks like a lot left.” So I count the remaining stitches….56! WHAT? Then did a lot of recounts, casted on 75 and now I have 106. EGADS. I thought I was going through the skeins awful fast. The front of the sweater now goes halfway around my butt. . It’s like I increased a stitch on every row. The whole thing is back in the bag right now. Will start ripping it out this weekend. Beginners, gotta lov’em eh?
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This sounds very familiar somehow. We’ve all been there. It’s a good thing that you counted stitches and looked at your knitting. It’s so easy to skip this.
Before you go on a ripping out spree, take a look at the knit fabric and see if you can see where the extra stitches came from. Often the beginning of a row is a likely place. Here’s how that happens.
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Thank you! I looked at the side edge and I can see a “wow” in the edge…after the introduction of where I was doing the button holes. So I think that’s where it all started which unfortunately at row 4. I did struggle with those button holes….once I get back there I hope you don’t mind if I ask for more interpretation. The other thing I never quite understood was how to tell right side from wrong side. It didn’t come into play until I quit for the evening and started up the next evening. Is there an easy way to look and tell? Or should I just have a note for which side I’ve completed?
For the Azel pattern, the V stitches are knits and are the RS. The bumps on the other side are the purls and that side is the WS.
Make a note where you left off or even easier, place a marker on the RS knit fabric. Then you can always tell.
Good luck with this on the second time around. That’s actually quite good!
There’s a lot to learn when you’re new to knitting, every item will be a new learning experience. Frogging (ripping out, undoing) is part of the process with knitting, even for more experienced knitters.
You might want to count your stitches more frequently, every couple of rows, just to check you are still on track. Markers can help, placed on the needle every 20 sts means it’s easier to count the stitches between the markers and see where any additional stitches have appeared before too many rows go by.
We are here to cheer you on and answer questions any time you’re stuck.
Wow, thank you ladies so much! I’m sure my second time through will go smoother now that I have you gals as a resource.
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I second the use of markers every 20 or so stitches–sometimes a different count works better with a specific pattern, but 20 is a good starting point.
Lifelines are also useful to know about, especially as a beginner. They’re like a save point in a video game. You run a piece of crochet cotton or dental floss or embroidery thread through all your stitches, and if you need to frog this line catches the loops so you can easily put them back on your needle. Here’s a video of 3 different ways to do this:
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Just watched the video. That’s great! I’m going to try that back a ways and then count stitches. Fabulous thanks.
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