Quick knitting question, help please!

ClaireLR

Hello

I'm trying to teach myself to knit as we are expecting our first baby :j

I'm knitting a cardigan and have managed to finish the back but am stuck on the sleeves. The pattern says "12th row, Rib 1(1:2:2:3), m1, (rib 4 m1) 7 times, rib 2 (2:3:3:4). 39 (39:41:41:43) sts."

Can anyone tell me what this means? If it helps I am making the first size.

Also, I am aware that there are knitting threads already but I was hoping for some quick help with this and didn't want it getting lost

Many thanks!

Penelope_Penguin

12th row, Rib 1 (rib is knit 1, purl one)

Make 1 - you can work into the wool between the stitches, or work twice into the same stitch

(rib 4 make 1) do the bit in brackets 7 times, making sure you keep to the rib pattern

rib 2

you will then have 39 stitches

hope that makes sense

ClaireLR

I think so!

So I knit 1, purl 1, make 1, knit 1, purl 1, knit 1, purl 1, make 1? Then repeat the k1 p1 kn1 p1 m1 7 times? is that right? And after the 7 times k1 p1?

I find it hard to get my head round the patterns for some reason!

Apollonia

ClaireLR wrote: »

I think so!

So I knit 1, purl 1, make 1, knit 1, purl 1, knit 1, purl 1, make 1? Then repeat the k1 p1 kn1 p1 m1 7 times? is that right? And after the 7 times k1 p1?

I find it hard to get my head round the patterns for some reason!

If you "knit 1, purl 1, make 1" at the start of the row you will end up with 40 stitches.

When the pattern says 'rib 1' it means literally 1 stitch in the rib pattern already established. So the first stitch could be either a knit or a purl, then make 1, then (K1,P1,K1,P1,M1) 7 times, then the 2 rib stitches which will be either K1, P1 or could be P1, K1 to maintain the established rib pattern.

The reason the pattern says "rib 4" rather than K1, P1 etc is so you follow the rib pattern already on the needles - it may vary between the sizes so it is easier to write it this way.

ampersand

I'm just going to congratulate you for starting to knit and learn without anyone to show you - and for the loveliest of happy reasons.
Well done!
I struggled, as a left-hander, even though my Nana was the one who started me off, far, far, far in time and space from here...
To this day, I don't purl whole rows as others do, but just knit backwards left>right.
I hold the wool in my left hand and that makes for struggles. Crochet doesn't pose this problem.
Good luck.

rosalie-lavender

I am another one who knits differently. I knit right handed and hold the wool in my left hand and knit into the back of the stitch. It is fine until I have to follow a pattern and some of the instructions don't work how they should. My mum knits normally but it seems to have come from my Nan who had a hand in teaching both me and my sister to knit.

I taught my daughter to knit and couldn't figure out at first why everytime I sorted her knitting out it ended up longer one side than the other. It turns out she knits a complete mirror image of how I knit. She knits left handed and holds the wool in her right hand. When I sorted her knitting out, I was knitting the same stitches she had already knitted. Luckily if I put my mind to it I can knit both left and right handed so I can still sort it if need be.

I agree, well done to the OP for teaching yourself to knit and congratulations on the forthcoming baby.

Apollonia

Ampersand, have you ever tried the Continental knitting style ? (Also known as German or Left-handed knitting.) You hold the yarn in your left hand and the movements are very similar to crochet.

There is a video here of the knit stitch:

http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/knit-stitch

And purl is here:

http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/purl-stitch

I switched to these techniques a couple of years ago and my knittinng is much faster than it used to be because the working yarn always stays in the left hand behind the knitting. For simple 2-colour work I've been known to have one colour in my left hand being knitted continental style and the other in my right hand in the traditional English style.

ClaireLR

Apollonia wrote: »

If you "knit 1, purl 1, make 1" at the start of the row you will end up with 40 stitches.

When the pattern says 'rib 1' it means literally 1 stitch in the rib pattern already established. So the first stitch could be either a knit or a purl, then make 1, then (K1,P1,K1,P1,M1) 7 times, then the 2 rib stitches which will be either K1, P1 or could be P1, K1 to maintain the established rib pattern.

The reason the pattern says "rib 4" rather than K1, P1 etc is so you follow the rib pattern already on the needles - it may vary between the sizes so it is easier to write it this way.

I'm confused.com (it doesn't take me much these days )

If a pattern says rib 1, does that mean k1 p1 or just one of the two? And if the latter, how do I know which one!

I cast on 31 stitches, and the end result should be 39 stitches.

Oooh my brain hurts :rotfl:it's probably to late at night for me to be trying to absorb this!

Thanks for the lovely comments, my nan also taught me to knit/purl about 25 years ago, I knit when I was a child but only straight things with no pattern (like scarves or squares!) so this is a first for me, figured it would be nice to make something for bubs to come home from hospital in :j

Thanks for all the help :A

ClaireLR

Ok I think I have it:

K1
M1
K1
P1
K1
P1
M1
K1
P1
K1
P1
M1
K1
P1
K1
P1
M1
K1
P1
K1
P1
M1
K1
P1
K1
P1
M1
K1
P1
K1
P1
M1
K1
P1
K1
P1
M1
K1
P1 (sorry for the length!)

That makes 39 stitches, is this correct?

Also, the question earlier about which stitch to start with, I knit 11 rows starting with a k1 p1 row, so ended with a knit row, so would the first stitch on the 12th row be a purl stitch? (meaning the above is actually probably all wrong!??)

snowball2103

ClaireLR wrote: »

Ok I think I have it:

K1
M1
K1
P1
K1
P1
M1
K1
P1
K1
P1
M1
K1
P1
K1
P1
M1
K1
P1
K1
P1
M1
K1
P1
K1
P1
M1
K1
P1
K1
P1
M1
K1
P1
K1
P1
M1
K1
P1 (sorry for the length!)

That makes 39 stitches, is this correct?

Also, the question earlier about which stitch to start with, I knit 11 rows starting with a k1 p1 row, so ended with a knit row, so would the first stitch on the 12th row be a purl stitch? (meaning the above is actually probably all wrong!??)

Hi Claire

Looking at what you've said above your first stitch on 12th row should be a purl stitch, everything else looks ok. Congratulations on the baby and hope the rest of your knitting goes well.

Snowball