knitting the back of a sweater… cable in the middle. I am confused on the directions as I get closer to the neck.
the cable is 24 stitches. Pattern says
k3, slip 2 sts to cn and hold to front, k2tog 2 times, taking 1 st from cn and 1 st from left needle, slip 5 sts to cn and hold to front, k2tog 5 times, taking 1 st from cn and 1 st from left needle, slip 2 sts to cn and hold back, k2tog 2 times, taking 1 st from left needle and 1 st from cn,
I am confused as to how to do this - am I twisting the work?
No you don’t twist anything, you’re knitting the sts out of order. Just do exactly what it says - k3, put 2 sts on the cn and hold it in front of your work. Then k2tog using 1 st from cn and 1 st from left needle, repeat that.
Next, put 5 sts on the cn and hold in front, and do the k2tog with 1 st from cn and 1 st from L needle 5 times, then put 2 sts on the cn and hold them in back, and k2tog twice using 1 st from left needle and 1 st from cn.
It’s a bit more complicated because of the decs, but you dec using one st from the cable needle and one from the L needle. Look at the video for the 3 needle BO on the Casting Off page; that’s similar in that you knit sts from 2 different needles together, you just don’t bind off. And try it in the morning when you’re fresher - that helps.