Need help understanding pattern!

How-to Questions
1

I am at the point of shaping the neck and shoulder of the back of this tank I’m knitting and can’t for the life of me figure out what I’m supposed to do. The pattern is the tunic tank n the spring/summer 07 issue of KnitSimple. The instructions say to pearl 18, bind off 22, join second ball of yarn and pearl the remaining stitches. Then, working both sides at once, bind off 4 from each neck edge once, AT SAME TIME (all caps in original), work shoulder shapping as foll: bind off 4 from each shoulder edge twice and bind off the remaining stitches.

The way I see it, following this I’ll end up with what I call a tail on the neck edge and a tail on the shoulder edge on the same side of the sweater and no way to get back over tho the other side. Is there some bind-off method that doesn’t require that you to stitch and bring the “tail” along as you bind off?

Help

2

I think that’s slightly wrong where they tell you to join the next ball - you should be able to purl 18, bind off 22, purl the remaining stitches, then turn and work back. Once you get to where you have bound off the stitches you drop the working yarn, then join the new ball onto the stitches on the other side of the bind off so that you can work those with their own ball of yarn. This way each shoulder will have it’s own yarn to work with that you just drop each time you get to the middle bo stitches, and you pick up the applicable yarn for each shoulder and work with that. Then you just follow the rest of the instructions for each shoulder.

Is this of any help, or do you need some advice on the shaping as well?

3

That helps. Thanks so much!