Need help on shaping & adding st betw 2 sections

Hi guys, it’s me again… I stuck again on yet another problem with this pattern. :wall: I can’t get the stitch count to match the pattern. Here is the same pattern instruction again:

[COLOR=“Blue”]1st section (left side): cast on 35 sts and work in st st.
Shape curve on right edge by casting on 3 sts once, 2 sts twice and 1 st twice and on foll. 4th row, cast on 1 st once.
When work measure 3 cm from beg: 2 sts from left edge, single dec once, then
2 sts from each edge of foll 6th rows, sgl dec 4 times.
In the meantime, when work measure 6 cm from beg, leave these sts on a holder.
Knit another section (right side), reversing shaping.
Join 2 sides, placing curves in the center and adding 16 sts. in between them. Don’t forget to continue dec 2 sts from each edge. You should have 96 sts.[/COLOR]

So I casted on 35 st per section. After the additional cast-on sts I have a total of 45 sts per section. At 3 cm, I dec 1 st, so now I have 44 sts per section. Joining 2 sections together, I only have [B]88 sts[/B] [COLOR=“Gray”](haven’t even done the sgl dec 4 times yet)[/COLOR] whereas the pattern says I should have [B]96 sts[/B]. Am I doing this wrong or is the pattern wonky again? :help:

Don’t forget that you add 16 stitches between the two sections when you join them.

Thanks for the clarification, Ingrid. I guess I got confused when your friend from Ravelry said to just knit across the 2 section, I forgot about adding the stitches. Thanks again for your great help! :muah: