Help with neck shaping

#1

I am to the neck shaping on my 1st sweater, and I am stuck!!

The pattern reads:

Note: both sides of neck are worked at the same time, using seperate yarn for each side.

Row 1: Knit 28 sts, slip next 23 sts onto st holder, with second yarn, knit across: 28 sts each side.

Rows 2 and 3: Work across; with second yarn, bind off 3 sts, work across 25 sts each side.

and so on…I don’t understand how to work with the second yarn. I have my 28 sts on one needle, 23 sts on the st holder, and 28 sts on the other needle. Where do I go from here?? :??

Thanks!!!

#2

:thinking: Rows 2 & 3 seam (pun pun giggle) to be missing something. I think what it means is:

Row 1: Knit 28 sts, slip next 23 sts onto st holder, with second yarn, knit across: 28 sts each side.

Row2:

  • skein 1: BO 3 sts, work in pattern across remaining sts
  • skein 2: Work even

Row3:

  • skein 2: BO 3 sts, work in pattern across remaining sts.
  • skein 1: Work even.

If more BO shaping is needed, you’d just repeat row 2 & 3. The thing w/ BO shaping is that you can’t perform a BO shaping at the end of a row b/c you’ll end end up w/ a gap btw the last st and the rest of the sts. So you have to BO at the beginning of a row. You could work dec’s at the end of a row for shaping, but a dec shaping doesn’t look the same as a BO shaping.

Does that make sense :??

#3

After row 1 is done, you should have two groups of 28 stitches on your needle each with its own working yarn attached, and the stitches on the holder just kind of hanging around in between the active groups of stitches.

If you have stitches on two different needles then you are actually in the MIDDLE of the row. When you’re finished with the row the working yarn should be on the left edge of the group of stitches just worked.

Clear as mud right? :?? I hope I didn’t confuse you more :rollseyes:
All the binding off has to be done at the beginning of a row (usually at the armhole edge) and neck shaping is usually done with a decrease at the neck edge.

Happy knitting :XX:

Mary

#4

ARGHHHHHHHH!!!

I cannot for the life of me seem to get this--------------I tried last night, and figured out that I think I was doing it backward- I was binding off at the outside ends, when I guess I’m supposed to be binding off on the inside- to make the neckline shape??? I ended up ripping out 6 rows and starting the neck over this morning, but now I feel even more inept than before.
I don’t know how to explain what I can’t do!! I get the 2nd yarn on and then I get all confused about when I am supposed to bind off and what it means when it says to work across- am I only binding off once in each row??

ARGHHHHHHH!!! :wall:

#5

Yep, you are only binding off once on each row of each skein, at the beginning of the row. You can’t bind off at the end of a row and expect to be able to do another row without a huge gap. :wink:

“Work across” simply means to continue with the established pattern. If you have been using stockinette, then “work across” means to continue in stockinette until you get to the end of the row of each skein. If you are doing a k2 p2 pattern, the “work across” means to keep K2 & P2’ing across the row.

If you give us a link to pattern (if it’s online :??), we might be able to give more suggestions. Seeing the whole pattern helps a lot :wink:

#6

I think it’s that bind off at the beginning of the row, but that it is actually in the middle of the work (since I’ve got the other side of the neck and the sts in the holder) that is getting me. The pattern is in a book that I bought, but here is the whole neck shaping part:

row 1: knit 28 sts, slip next 23 sts onto st holder, with 2nd yarn, knit across: 28 sts each side.

rows 2 and 3: work across; with 2nd yarn, bind off 3 sts, work across: 25 sts each side.

rows 4 and 5: work across; with 2nd yarn, bind off 2 sts, work across:23 sts each side.

row 6: purl across to within 2 sts of neck edge, SSP: with 2nd yarn, P2 tog, work across: 22 sts each side.

row 7: knit across to within 2 sts of neck edge, K2tog: with 2nd yarn, SSK, knit across: 21 sts each side.

work even until front measures same as back to shoulder shaping, ending by working a purl row.

then it goes into the shoulder shaping, which I think I’ll be able to get no problem, if I can just get the dang neck done!!!

thank you for your help…nothing like some yarn and 2 sticks to make you feel like an idiot!!! :doh:

#7

I THINK I DID IT!!! :cheering: :cheering: :cheering:

I haven’t gotten all the way through it yet, but I’ve made it to row 7 of the neck and think I finally understood what I needed to do!

Of course, I haven’t accomplished anything else that I was supposed to today, but my sweater has a neck!

#8

Yeehaw!! Way to go Margie!!! Doesn’t it just feel soooooo good when it “clicks”. I love that feelin’!! The ends are so worth the means, eh? :wink: