Yet more help needed

General Knitting
1

Ok, so I have been working on a poncho pattern and I have run into some more problems. The pattern reads like this:

Cowl: With shorter circular needle, cast on 78 sts. Join, being careful not to twist sts. Mark for beg of rnd and carry marker up (use different colored marker here).
Rnd 1: K37, place marker, k2, place marker, k37, place marker, k2.
Rnd 2: P37, sl marker, k2, sl marker, p37, sl marker, k2. Rep these 2 rnds until piece measures 8” from beg.
Body: St st Band: Rnd 1: M1k, k37, M1k, place marker, k2, place marker, M1k, k37, M1k, place marker, k2 – 82 sts.
Rnd 2: Knit. Continue to inc 4 sts in this manner every other rnd until piece measures 6” from beg when measured straight up front and back from neck to point, end with Rnd 1.

What I am having trouble with is the Body part. I have done the cowl neck and it worked out just great. Now I am trying to increase one every time it says to and I am having so much trouble. First of all, when I increase 4 in a round, I have those extra 4 stitches to deal with at the end of the round. So, do I place a new round marker there to mark the beginning of the new round or do I knit the next 4 stitches and oficially start the new round where the old marker is?? (I sure hope this makes sense… it is so hard to explain.). My other problem is that if I count 37 stitches every time, the increases are in different spots then. Aren’t the increases supposed to line up all the way down the poncho so that you have a point in the front and back and at both sides?? What am I doing wrong?? Finally, there are small holes where I am making the increases. I am following the video that is on this site for M1 increase and yet there is still a little hole where I make the increase and of course they aren’t even lining up because the increases I am making are somehow at different spots.

I can’t seem to figure out what I am doing wrong and how to fix it. The pattern seems so confusing to me.

I really appreciate all the help on this… I am going mad trying to figure it out myself and so I thought I would ask here as I always get such great advice.

Thanks all!!

Trish

p.s. Once again the url to the pattern I am using (complete with picture) is:

http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/loretta_lynn/loretta_lynn.html

2

Well, first of all, you are working a M1k so your should be working this increase

Pickup horizontal strand between st just worked and next st, place on LH needle, k this st (inc 1).

You should be doing something like this:
http://knittinghelp.com/knitting/videos/increase/m1f.mpg

Secondly, the directions you are working from say:

Rnd 2: Knit. Continue to inc 4 sts in this manner every other rnd

Which means that the manner in which you increased the previous row is how you should do it again this row.

It appears that you are Increases once, working to where your stitch marker is, increasing again, knitting 2 increasing, work back to the other stitch marker, increasing, then knitting the last 2 stitches.
Your increases will always be lined up at the same point and the increases will add 4 stitches to the expanses between the stitch markers.