Help with a pattern, please!

Help, please! I am making this owl but I’m confused by the YO at the beginning of rows 2, 3, and 4. I must be doing something wrong because I keep getting holes in my work but I’m also confused because that’s typically what happens in a YO. Any idea what I may be missing? I’m not sure I’ve ever made anything where stitches are left unworked on the needle

The k2tog and the ssp should close up the yarn over holes. In each case you’re knitting the yarn over together with the next stitch. The k2tog and the ssp will twist the yarn over and the hole will close up.

Are you working the ssp through the back loop? It’s a bit awkward but it’ll work to close the yarn over. I just p2tog tbl (purl 2 together through the back loop) without slipping either stitch.

That’s is such a clever pattern overall. I hope we get to see a photo when you finish.

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Thank you so much! That helps a lot - I think I’m doing the YO wrong actually. Once I turn my work, having unworked stitches on my right needle is throwing me off. How do I do the YO there?

I work it by bringing the yarn to to front then over the right hand needle. It’s a little weird because there aren’t really any close sts to the right of the yarn over to anchor it. It’s like making a yarn over at the beginning of a row.
Here’s yarn over at beg of knit row.

You can work the yarn over at the beg of a purl row this way

or you can keep the yarn at the front, go over the needle and around to the front again to purl.

This helped so much! I got it figured out and got the beak made. Thanks again and I’ll be sure to post a picture when it’s done (hopefully before Christmas)! :slight_smile:

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Hi again! I’ve run into some more trouble and I’m hoping you can help me again!

This time, it’s the pants that I’m confused on. On row 25, the pattern says to place 2 pattern markers - at this point in the pattern, I’m fairly certain there should be 80 stitches. If I’m correct, that then means that the pattern markers divide the pants into a section of 25 stitches, 36 stitches and 19 stitches. That doesn’t seem right to me, won’t that create for uneven legs or asymmetrical cabling? I’ve studied the pattern for a while trying to figure out if I’m missing something but I’m still confused, and I don’t want to continue any further only to have to unravel!

The cables are going to run down the sides of the pants. The front and back will be 30 + 6 cable sts and 38 + 6 cables sts. The difference may be accounting for the extra sts in the back shaping and the button bands.
Put in a lifeline just to be sure, but continue with the directions. When you join to knit in the round on round 33, this should all fall into place.
Here’s a video for a lifeline (see method #1):

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It’s so helpful to know that someone else is getting the same calculations! I also can’t believe I’ve been knitting this long and never known about a lifeline! Thank you so much for all of your help, I appreciate it so much.