Armhole Shaping

[foreverchar]

Back
With smaller needles and using the long-tail method (see Glossary), CO 66 (72 (78, 91, 97) sts. Knit 4 rows. Change to larger needles. Row 1: (RS) Knit.
Row 2: Purl. Row 3: K2, [k2tog] 2 (3, 4, 2, 3) times, [yo, k1] 2 (3, 4, 2, 3)
times, place marker (pm), work center 50 (50, 50, 75, 75) sts for feather and fan patt as *[yo, k1] 4 times, [ssk] 4 times, k1, [k2tog] 4 times, [yo, k1] 4 times, pm; rep from * 1 (1, 1, 2, 2) more time(s), [yo, k1] 2 (3, 4, 2, 3) times, [ssk] 2 (3, 4, 2, 3) times, k2—2 (2, 2, 3, 3) marked full 25-st reps of feather and fan patt at center, 6 (9, 12, 6, 9) sts for partial patt rep on each side of main patt, 2 edge sts at each end of needle.
Row 4: Knit. Cont in patt until Rows 1–4 have been worked a total of 20 times, ending with Row 4—80 patt rows total; piece measures 17" (43 cm) from CO for all sizes, measured straight up along a single column of sts at center back.
Shape Armholes
NOTES When working armhole shaping, discontinue the partial patt rep
at each side; instead, work the partial rep sts and edge sts as St st on patt Rows 1–3, and knit them on patt Row 4 to form a garter ridge to match the feather and fan patt. BO 4 (4, 5, 5, 7) sts at beg of next 2 rows (Rows 1 and 2 of patt)—58 (64, 68, 81, 83) sts rem; 4 (7, 9, 3, 4) sts on each side of marked full patt reps at center. Cont as established, dec 1 st each end of needle every RS row 3 times, ending with Row 3 of patt—52 (58, 62, 75, 77) sts rem; 1 (4, 6, 0, 1) st(s) on each side of marked full patt reps at center. Work 3 rows even, ending with Row 2 of patt. Reestablish patt on next row as foll: (RS, Row 3 of patt) K1 (1, 0, 0, 1) for edge st, k2tog 0 (1, 2, 0, 0) time(s), [yo, k1] 0 (1, 2, 0, 0) time(s), work center 50 (50, 50, 75, 75) sts for feather and fan patt as *[yo, k1] 4 times, [ssk] 4 times, k1, [k2tog] 4 times, [yo, k1] 4 times; rep from * 1 (1, 1, 2, 2) more time(s), [yo, k1] 0 (1, 2, 0, 0) time(s), [ssk] 0 (1, 2, 0, 0) time(s), k1 (1, 0, 0, 1) edge st—2 (2, 2, 3, 3) marked full 25-st reps of feather and fan patt at center, 0 (3, 6, 0, 0) sts for partial patt rep on each side of main patt, 1 (1, 0, 0, 1) edge st(s) at each end of needle. Cont as established, until armholes measure about 8 (81⁄2, 9, 9, 91⁄2)" (20.5 [21.5, 23, 23, 24] cm), ending with Row 2 of patt.
Shape Shoulders and Back Neck
Work short-rows (see Glossary) as foll: Short-row 1: (RS) K13 (16, 18, 24, 25), BO center 26 (26, 26,
27, 27) sts, k7 (8, 9, 12, 13), wrap next st, turn. Short-row 2: (WS) K7 (8, 9, 12, 13), turn. Short-row 3: K13 (16, 18, 24, 25) to end, working the
wrapped st tog with its wrap. Place the last 13 (16, 18, 24, 25) sts just worked on holder for left back shoulder. With WS facing, join yarn to sts for right shoulder at neck edge. Short-row 1: (WS) K7 (8, 9, 12, 13), wrap next st, turn. Short-row 2: (RS) K7 (8, 9, 12, 13), turn. Short-row 3: P13 (16, 18, 24, 25) to end, working the wrapped
st tog with its wrap. Place sts on holder for right back shoulder.

THe above is the pattern I am working with and I just finished off the simple part of the back. I have no idea how to continue on. I'm confused about what I should do when shaping the armholes and what they refer to when they are talking about short-rows. Thanks for any help!

[MerigoldinWA]

There are 5 sizes given. Which one are you making? Knowing this will make it easier to explain.

[foreverchar]

I'm making the smallest size. I think I have it figured out except for what does "dec 1 st each end of needle" mean? Do I decrease the first and last stitch of the row, the last stitch of the row and the first of the next row row or just the last row? I have had a few conflicting responses on the subject.

[salmonmac]

Decrease the first and last stitch of the row. This is so that the knitting slopes in on each edge at the armholes.
Here's a video for short row shaping and also a variation. There are several ways to do this but the idea is to pur extra rows into your knitting in order to shape the fabric.