Need Help with My First Sweater (crew neck)

[skippyjonjones]

Hi, I am new to this site -- Hope you can help.

I am knitting my first sweater. It is a crew neck for my 10 year old daughter. I am now starting the front of the sweater and can't figure out the shaping part of the pattern. Here is what it says:

Left front top:
...ending with a RS row.

Shape Neck
Bind off 11 sts at beg of next row; continue to bind off at beg of neck edge 5 sts once, 3 sts once, 1 st twice.

Maybe this would make more sense if I was actually at this point, but I just don't get where I am binding off. It's probably really simple but just worded weird. Hope someone can help Thank you!!

[Ingrid]

The front of the neck is lower than the back of the neck, so you will bind off stitches at the center of the front.

When you get to this point, you'll separate the front into two sections.

On the left side of the sweater, you'll bind off the first 5 stitches and finish the row. Purl back, bind off 3, finish the row, purl back and then bind off 1. The remaining stitches will be worked up to the shoulder seam.

You'll be doing the same for the right side, but you'll bind off on the purl side.

[skippyjonjones]

The front of the neck is lower than the back of the neck, so you will bind off stitches at the center of the front.

When you get to this point, you'll separate the front into two sections.

On the left side of the sweater, you'll bind off the first 5 stitches and finish the row. Purl back, bind off 3, finish the row, purl back and then bind off 1. The remaining stitches will be worked up to the shoulder seam.

You'll be doing the same for the right side, but you'll bind off on the purl side.

What do you mean by "Purl back"? If I finish the row then I don't turn it and knit -- instead purl the rest of the time?

[skippyjonjones]

The front of the neck is lower than the back of the neck, so you will bind off stitches at the center of the front.

When you get to this point, you'll separate the front into two sections.

On the left side of the sweater, you'll bind off the first 5 stitches and finish the row. Purl back, bind off 3, finish the row, purl back and then bind off 1. The remaining stitches will be worked up to the shoulder seam.

You'll be doing the same for the right side, but you'll bind off on the purl side.

Not sure what you mean by "purl back."

[skippyjonjones]

The front of the neck is lower than the back of the neck, so you will bind off stitches at the center of the front.

When you get to this point, you'll separate the front into two sections.

On the left side of the sweater, you'll bind off the first 5 stitches and finish the row. Purl back, bind off 3, finish the row, purl back and then bind off 1. The remaining stitches will be worked up to the shoulder seam.

You'll be doing the same for the right side, but you'll bind off on the purl side.

Thank you. What do you mean by purl back?

[suzeeq]

You purl 'back' on the back row - the WS of the sweater. She's thinking you're doing stockinette where you knit the RS and purl the WS.

[Ingrid]

Yes, that's what I meant. You work the wrong-side rows without any decreases, and I assumed that they were purled.

[skippyjonjones]

The front of the neck is lower than the back of the neck, so you will bind off stitches at the center of the front.

When you get to this point, you'll separate the front into two sections.

On the left side of the sweater, you'll bind off the first 5 stitches and finish the row. Purl back, bind off 3, finish the row, purl back and then bind off 1. The remaining stitches will be worked up to the shoulder seam.

You'll be doing the same for the right side, but you'll bind off on the purl side.

You purl 'back' on the back row - the WS of the sweater. She's thinking you're doing stockinette where you knit the RS and purl the WS.

Thank you, but I am doing stockinette stitch. The back of the sweater and neck part is holding stitches right now in the center. The front of the sweater is in four pieces (kind of patchwork - 4 different colored squares). I am now starting on the left front where the directions I quoted are (top of front). Then when I finish that I reverse it for the right top of sweater front. Am I confusing you. So sorry!!!

[skippyjonjones]

Yes, that's what I meant. You work the wrong-side rows without any decreases, and I assumed that they were purled.

Your Quote: On the left side of the sweater, you'll bind off the first 5 stitches and finish the row. Purl back, bind off 3, finish the row, purl back and then bind off 1. The remaining stitches will be worked up to the shoulder seam.

I just want to make sure that each bind off that is mentioned in the pattern is in a different row and starts at the begining of a row and then finished in the WS or RS stitch.

[Ingrid]

Sorry I confused you.

On the left side of the sweater, you'll bind off 5 stitches and then knit the rest of the row.

The next row, the ws row, is purled as normal.

Now you'll start the next rs row, binding off 3 stitches at the beginning of that row and knitting the rest.

Turn and purl the ws row.

Turn, bind of one stitch and knit the rest of the row.

When you work the other side of the sweater, you'll have to do the bind-offs with the wrong side facing because that is the edge you do the neck shaping and you can only bind off at the beginning of a row.

It'll make more sense when you get to it. Just go step by step.