I need help with a knitting instruction

Pattern Central
1

I am working on a teddy bear and I am stuck on the leg instructions and could use some help please.

Cast on 24sts(which I did)
STst 3 rows (which I did)

row4-Dec 1st at each end of row and following alt row (20sts)

I understand Dec 1st at each end of row

My question is what does the following mean
,and following alt row (20sts)

What rows are they talking about?

Then the next row is row 7

row 7-K
Cast off 3 sts at beg of next 2 rows:whoosh:
(14sts)

row 10-P
row 11-Inc 1 st at each end of row and following 4th row (18sts):whoosh:

can someone dummy this down for me?

2

“following alt row (20sts)”

This means inc 2 sts every other row until you have 20 sts. Then,

“Cast off 3 sts at beg of next 2 rows (14sts)”

After you knit the 20 sts on row 7, bind off 3 sts at the beg of row 8 and 3 at the beg of row 9. This leaves you with 14 sts.

“row 10-P
row 11-Inc 1 st at each end of row and following 4th row (18sts)”

Purl row 10, and go back to increasing sts at both end of row 11 and the 4th row after that (row 15) and you will have 18 sts.