Just started new pattern and already stuck

How-to Questions
1

I’m knitting the ‘Smock Top’ from Claire Montgomerie’s ‘Easy Kids Knits’ book and the whole ‘main body’ section is very confusing to me. Here’s what the pattern says - I’m knitting the second smallest size, listed first within the parenthesis.

Cont main body as folls:
Row 1: Knit to end.
Row 2: K5, p to last 5 sts, k5.
Rep these two rows for length of body, making 1 buttonhole in garter st border at beg of row on 3rd (1st: 7th: 3rd: 9th) and foll 10th (12th: 12: 14th: 14th) rows throughout as folls:
K2, yo, k2tog, k1, k to end of row.
At the same time dec on next and every foll 6th (8th: 8th: 8th: 10th) row as folls:
Next row (I won’t type out all of the instructs for this row but at the end of it there are 141 (149: 161: 169: 177) sts.
Work in this way until 125 (133: 141: 149: 157) sts rem.
Cont straight in st st without decreasing until work measures 6 1/4 (7: 8 1/4: 9: 10 1/4) in./16 (18: 21: 23: 26) cm from eyelet holes row, ending with a WS row.

I get that you repeat Row 1 and Row 2, but it doesn’t say how many times, unless I’m missing something. If I have 2 rows, how do I get to a 12th row to make a buttonhole? Unless it means the 12th repetition of those 2 rows? I know the pattern has buttons/holes all the way up the back of the top, when I look at the picture in the book. I’m pretty much just lost in general. I already knit Row 1, but then it sounds like I should have made a buttonhole in that row when I read on for my size? Do I need to take that whole row out and put in the buttonhole?

Ugh, sorry - but I’m very lost. Any help would be much appreciated - thanks!! :hug:

2

Just keep repeating rows 1 and 2 the whole way through. When you do them over and over you make more than 2 rows. The buttonhole on the 12th row is the 6th repetion of the 2 (6x2=12) Place the buttonholes where it says for your size would be the 1st row and every 12th one after that. It won’t hurt if you make the first buttonhole on the 3rd row, then every 12th one.

3

Ok, that’s kind of what I was thinking but I wasn’t sure. So when you incorporate the decrease row in too, for my size it looks like I’ll be decreasing on every 8th row and doing buttonholes on every 12th row? I think I get that I should’ve done a buttonhole on the 1st row (I’ll have it on the 3rd - thanks!) and then the 12th afterward, but what row should I do the first decrease on? It says to “dec on [B]next[/B] and every foll…” - I’m not totally sure which row it’s referring to by ‘next’.

Hopefully this question makes sense - thank you!!

4

… for my size it looks like I’ll be decreasing on every 8th row and doing buttonholes on every 12th row?

Yep, that’s right. And since the instructions to dec on the ‘next’ row come right after Rows 1 and 2, it looks like you do the first on on row 3. Then row 11, 19, etc…

5

Ok, that makes sense. Thank you!!

6

Another quick question - but I’m not sure if this is something anyone here can answer or not… Since I’m decreasing every 8th row, the number of stitches in the row changes (obviously). But the pattern for the decrease row itself doesn’t seem to accommodate that - it gives instructions based on the original number of stitches. I know that I have to somehow adjust for the fewer stitches as I go, but the pattern doesn’t tell me what to do…

Here’s this part of the pattern again:

At the same time dec on next and every foll 6th (8th: 8th: 8th: 10th) row as folls:
Next row: K17 (18:20:21:22), k2tog, k34 (36:39:41:43), sl 1, k1, psso, k35 (37, 39, 41, 43) k2tog, k34 (36, 39,41,43), sl 1, k1, psso, k17 (18:20:21:22). 141 (149: 161: 169: 177) sts rem.
Work in this way until 125 (133: 141: 149: 157) sts rem.

Any ideas? Thank you so much!

7

What’s the stitch pattern - something lacy or seed or basketweave stitch?

8

The rest of the pattern is basically in stockinette with 5 stitches in garter stitch at either end. Thanks!!

9

If it helps - here’s a link to the pattern on Ravelry. You can see what the finished product looks like: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/smock-top-2. Thanks!

10

At the same time dec on next and every foll 6th (8th: 8th: 8th: 10th) row as folls:
Next row: K17 (18:20:21:22), k2tog, k34 (36:39:41:43), sl 1, k1, psso, k35 (37, 39, 41, 43) k2tog, k34 (36, 39,41,43), sl 1, k1, psso, k17 (18:20:21:22). 141 (149: 161: 169: 177) sts rem.
Work in this way until 125 (133: 141: 149: 157) sts rem.

Those are your directions. You are going to be working 4 decreases on each decrease row and you will have the stitches divided into 5 sections. You can think of the sections as front, side, back, side, front. You are supposed to do a decrease between each section like this (\for the k2tog, / for the sl1, k1, psso) K__\ K___/ K___\ K___/ K__. You have 2 options either you take stitches out of each front and each side and none out of the back, or you take stitches out of each front and each side of back, but none out of the sides. I’m not sure which is right, but I think I would go with option #2. The reason I’m thinking this is because then the fronts and the back would decrease alike and the sides would stay the same which I think makes better sense.

I think the easiest way to do this is to use some stitch markers. You begin with 153 stitches for your size. Have you begun the decreases yet? If not here is how I would do it on the first decrease row: K18, K2tog, PM, K36, PM, Sl1, K1, PSSO, K37, K2tog, PM, K36, PM, Sl1, K1, PSSO, K18.

Then on each following decrease row K to 2 before the first marker, K2tog, SM, K36, SM, Sl1, K1, PSSO, knit to 2 before the next marker, K2tog, SM, K36, SM, Sl1, K1, PSSO, knit to the end of the row.

PM= place marker SM=slip marker

You will be decreasing 4 stitches every 8 rows 5 times for a total decrease of 20 stitches. You started with 153 and end with 133.

There may be other ways to do it, but I think this will work. If you’ve gotten past the first decrease row already and are unsure how to place the markers at that point, holler and maybe I can help.