Need help with shoulder/neck shaping

[TSB]

I am attempting to make my first sweater(cardigan) and to follow my first pattern. I have almost completed the back piece and it has gone quite well but mostly because I have used Amy's wonderful videos to help me when I had to do something new. Unfortunately, I am now truly stuck and need some advice. The pattern reads as follows for shoulder and neck shaping:

Bind off 6 sts at beg of next row, knit until there are 11 sts on right hand needle. Turn and bind off 4 sts, purl to end. Bind off rem sts.

Rejoin yarn, cast off center 24 sts, knit to end. Complete to match first side, reversing shaping.

I need some help understanding these instructions. I followed the first bind off intructions, turned my work and began the second bind off inst. but got scared because it looked strange and I wasn't sure I was on the right path. I have no idea how to do the second paragraph "rejoin yarn etc.". Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I don't have any friends that knit so I must rely on the kindness of strangers.

Thank you,
Tracy

[Ingrid]

I've made more than my share of sweaters, but these directions confuse me, too.

How many stitches are on the needle now?

Better yet, is there a link to the pattern? Where is it from?

[TSB]

This pattern is from a book called "Yarnplay" by Lisa Shobhana Mason. As far as I know, this pattern is not on the internet.

I have already done the following inst. (Bind off 6 sts at beg of next 2 rows.) AND the beginning of the ones I quoted earlier (Bind off 6 sts at beg of next row). Now I have 52 sts left on my needles.

[Ingrid]

OK, you did bind off at the beginning of the both the rows first. That's kind of what confused me.

I see what's happening now.

It is a different way of working the neck, but what you're doing is is working one shoulder to completion. Then you're binding off the center stitches at the back of the neck and working the other shoulder.

So after you've bound off the 6 stitches at the beginning of the row, you should have 1 stitch left on your needle. Knit 10 more and turn the work as if you were done with the row. Bind off 4 stitches at the neck edge and purl the rest of the row, then bind off all your stitches. Your right shoulder is finished.

Cut the yarn from there and use it to bind off the center 24 stitches an work to the end--you can just start knitting with it--the bind off will secure the end just fine.

Then bind off 6 at the armhole end, finish the row. Bind off 4 at the neck edge, finish the row and then bind off all the rest.

[TSB]

Thanks so much. It worked like a charm.