question about ribbing

[Cherinec5]

i'm working on the Leo sweater for my husband and i'm on the sleeves now. the pattern is 5 x 3 ribbing. i'm not up to the part where i start including stitches. i still have to maintain the pattern though.
I'm confused about the stitches that I include. i have to include a stitch in th beg and in the end. now when i continue with the pattern, the next row will be k or p so i dont have 5 x 3 anymore. should i just knit or purl the begining ones and contine in pattern for the rest of the stitches? but i have to include about 40 stitches or something so if i just knit/purl the first ones it will set the whole pattern off. what should i do?

[Ingrid]

As you work the new stitches into the pattern, you expand the pattern out from the sides.

So if now you have

. . . . . . kkkkkpppkkkkkpppkkkkk, after the first increases you'll have
. . . . . .pkkkkkpppkkkkkpppkkkkkp then
. . . . . ppkkkkkpppkkkkkpppkkkkkpp and then
. . . .pppkkkkkpppkkkkkpppkkkkkppp etc.

[Cherinec5]

thanks ingrid, thats what i had thought but i just wanted to be on the safe side :)