What is * () and []?

General Knitting
1

I am new to knitting and after some practice I decided to make a lace scarf. After the 1st 2 rows I’m stuck.

/It’s the Madeira Cascade Kid Merino Lace Scarf/

CO: 45 st very loosely - OK this i did
ROW 1: (right side): Knit - OK this is fine too
ROW 2: (and all wrong-side rows): Purl - OK, I got this also
ROW 3: K2, *k1, yo, k8, (sl1, k2tog, psso), k8, yo; repeat from *, end k3

ROW 5: K2, *k2, yo, k7, (sl1, k2tog, psso) k7, yo, k1; repeat from *, end k3

The problem starts from Row 3. I do the K2, k1, yo, k8, (sl1, k2tog, psso) k8, yo ------ BUT then it says repeat from * (which is right before the k1 (*k1 like so)
I assumed that repeat from * means I repeat the whole row from *k1, yo, k8, (sl1, k2tog, psso), k8, yo…so I did… only to realize that it will need over 45 stitches! AND THERE ARE ONLY 45 TO BEGIN WITH!!
PLEASE, HELP ME, TELL ME WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

  • What does * mean? Do I only repeat what is right after *? Like *k1 - so i knit one? Or do I repeat the whole thing after * to the end??
  • What are the () for? I am not sure what to make of those! If I just knit whatever is in there and go on what is the purpose of them?
  • Also, why is the 1st stitch in ROW 3 with a capital K - K2??? Does that mean something other than knit 2?
  • One more thing: the pattern leaves out all the even rows…but I realize it says at ROW 2: all wrong-side rows:Purl … so do i Purl all even rows then??
  • At ROW 19 the pattern gets even more complicated!: K2, *[k1, yo, (sl1, k2tog, psso), yo] 5 times; repeat from *, end k3. What are these [] used for? What do they mean?

I appreciate your help, hope it wasn’t confusing to read

2

I’m marking my answers with [COLOR=Red]red [COLOR=Black]inside the quote :)[/COLOR][/COLOR]

Hope that helps :slight_smile:

3

Now a general answer I forgot to give you:teehee:. ** are used to point out a repeat in a pattern, if there’s a part in the pattern repeat that needs a repetition in itself, usually () or [] are used. () are also used to indicate sizes in garments, like S (M, L, XL) and then the number of sts for each size - cast on 22 (23, 24, 25) sts.

4

Thanks sooo much! I am gona try again, I must have messed up something. I hope this time it will work out…

Thank you!

5

This is why I like charts for lace patterns. Maybe I can help. On row 3 you start with k2(+10 sts -a double decrease (that’s what is in the (), +yo +8 You will notice you have 2 yo(increases) and 2 decreases(,k2tog,psso decreases.) a total of 20 sts between the * * repeat this until the end when you should have 3 sts left over then k3 to the end. you should have two repeats totaling 40 sts and that + the 2K’ you started with equals 45 sts. aS TO ROW 19, tHESE [] are another set of repeat brackets Make sure you put markers between the repeats so you don;t lose your way on this one. Good luck