How to shape neck for a sweater

[Marie743]

The question is: I have knitted the back of a sweater and finished the armhole shaping. The next step is to divide for the neck. I did that by knitting the first 27 stitches, bound off 26 for the neck, then added the second yarn and knitted a second 27 stitches for the left side. Next is the neck shaping that I don't get. Row 1 says to bind off 7 anerd purl across. On the other side, bind off 3 and purl to the end. Row 2 says bind off 7 on one side and bind off 3 on the other. It doesn't say to knit back to the shoulder. Do I start binding off toward the shoulder at the neckline? That would not make sense, then I would have a point in the middle of the shoulder. I would think that I would start binding off at the shoulder edges only so that the shoulder slants upward toward the neck on both the back and front pieces so they match. The pattern does not say however to knit back to the armhole and start the binding off only on the edge toward the neck. How is this done?

[suzeeq]

Begin by BO 7 on the purl row, work to the neck, then BO 3 on the other side and finish the row. Turn and BO 7 on the RS, knit to the neck, and BO 3 on the other side of it and finish that row. The row is split by the neck BO, but you always work across all the stitches.

[Marie743]

Are you saying that after I bind off 7 on the purl side on the left shoulder, I purl to the neck edge and then on the right shoulder at the neck edge, I bind off three and purl to the end toward the shoulder, thereby binding off both at the the shoulder toward the neck and on the other side from the neck toward the shoulder?

[Marie743]

Are you saying that after I bind off 7 on the purl side on the left shoulder, I purl to the neck edge and then on the right shoulder at the neck edge, I bind off three and purl to the end toward the shoulder, thereby binding off both at the the shoulder toward the neck and on the other side from the neck toward the shoulder?

Are you saying that after I bind off 7 on the purl side on the left shoulder, I purl to the neck edge and then on the right shoulder at the neck edge, I bind off three and purl to the end toward the shoulder, thereby binding off both at the the shoulder toward the neck and on the other side from the neck toward the shoulder?

[suzeeq]

Yep, that's right. It'll look something like this.

/--\__/--\
|vvvvvvv|

[Marie743]

Thank you so much! This was real confusing to me because the neck bind offs are in the middle and I couldn't tell if you when from one side to the other or stopped at the neck and then turned around. Thanks again.

[suzeeq]

You can do each shoulder separately, too; just depends on how you want to work them.

[GrumpyGramma]

This is confusing when you've not done it before, I still remember my first time. I thought I'd never get it right. The best part of doing both shoulders at the same time this way is that you don't have to go back and start over and have to decipher the pattern again. You're also less likely to find a glaring error on one side just when you think you were done because you have the mirror images in front of you. Once I got the hang of it, doing both at the same time was the only way for me. It works with sleeves and other things too. You've just gained a valuable skill! Pat yourself on the back for me, OK?

[salmonmac]

It may help to make a little diagram of the shoulder and neck decreases. You can use dashes with the number of sts to bind off written above the dash and check them off as you go along to make sure you're gotten them all done.
Good luck with the rest of the sweater!

[Marie743]

thank you so much; you are so nice[u]