K1 Edge Stitch

#1

I’m working on a scarf pattern as shown below:

Cable pattern: [B]Row 1[/B] (WS): k1 edge st, k2, p12, cont rep from * to *, end with k2, k1 edge st

[B]Rows 2-15[/B] Work sts as they face you

[B]Row 16[/B] p1 edge st, *p2, cross 12 sts towards right (put 6 sts onto 1 st holder held behind work, k the foll 6 sts, then k the sts on st holder) *, cont rep from * to *, end with p2, p1 edge st.

Cont. rep Rows 1-16.

I have these questions before I begin.

  1. Is “edge stitch” just a slip stitch (knit or purl)? And if so, would I be alternating “p1 edge st” and “k1 edge st” according to right and wrong sides? The pattern doesn’t indicate which edge stitch to begin or end with for Rows 2-15.

  2. “Work sts as they face you” – knit a knit st and purl a purl st?

#2

"work stitches as they face you means knit the knits and purl the purls. So yes, you would purl 1 at beginning and end on the WS rows. For a nice edge, you can slip the 1st stitch of every row, and then knit or purl the last one.

#3

They aren’t telling you to slip the sts, they’re telling you to k the first and last edge st (or purl, depending on the row). If you choose to slip the first, that’s up to you. You probably know this already, but you will knit the knits and purl the purls as they face you, not by what they were the previous row.