Beginner Attempting Poncho

I have this great poncho with a cowl neck that I've had more compliments on than anything ..... it's quite long and I am sure it's machine knit .... whenever I go to my hair salon, the receptionist says "Toby, may I TAKE your wrap" and makes like she is going to the back room or out with it .... I have been told that to make one would be very simple so I've decided to make her one ... mine is in two rectangles, seam up the sides and onto the shoulders .... there is also a seam in the cowl .... however, I found a pattern that seems rather simple if I could only understand the terminology and it's made in one piece which is all the better .......
http://www.berroco.com/193/193_paige.html

I have some questions:

1) My poncho is made from a flecked type of yarn and the nearest I could find was Bernat Boucle which has gauge of 15 st/22 rows for 4x4" on 6 mm/10 US needles .... this Berroco poncho also calls for 6 mm needles and says gauge of 3 st = 1 in. in garter st. .... I'm assuming that the Boucle gauge is appx 4 st = 1 in.?

2) Cast on 68 st and join .... mark for beg of round and what does it mean to CARRY MARKER UP?

2) What is DECREASE 12 st EVENLY SPACED ON LAST ROUND - 56 ST?

3) What is: *K1, place marker, M1K, I understand k27 is knit 27 st, then M1k, sl marker?

4) Round 4: what does it mean "increasing 1 st each side of marked sts every other round?"

Thanks so much
Toby (the confused)

[mwedzi]

1) My poncho is made from a flecked type of yarn and the nearest I could find was Bernat Boucle which has gauge of 15 st/22 rows for 4x4" on 6 mm/10 US needles .... this Berroco poncho also calls for 6 mm needles and says gauge of 3 st = 1 in. in garter st. .... I'm assuming that the Boucle gauge is appx 4 st = 1 in.?

2) Cast on 68 st and join .... mark for beg of round and what does it mean to CARRY MARKER UP?

2) What is DECREASE 12 st EVENLY SPACED ON LAST ROUND - 56 ST?

3) What is: *K1, place marker, M1K, I understand k27 is knit 27 st, then M1k, sl marker?

4) Round 4: what does it mean "increasing 1 st each side of marked sts every other round?"

Thanks so much
Toby (the confused)

As to the flecked yarn, do you mean like a tweed? Google tweed yarn and maybe you'll find what you need.

For (2), 56 stitches is how many stitches you will have left after decreasing 12 stitches around. So you should have 68 stitches before you do these decreases.

For (3) M1 is an increase and there is a video on how to do it on this site under increases. 'sl marker' means to slip the marker you put on before. you are just going to transfer the marker from one needle to the working needle.

for (4), I think it means, whenever you see a marker, you are going to do an increase (presumably M1) right before that marker, then again after it. You don't do this every round, but every other round. This means on the increase rounds, you'd be increasing 4 stitches if there are 2 markers.

[suzeeq]

Carry the marker means to slip it from one needle to the next as you come to it on each round. Don't just leave it attached to the stitch on the first round.

To decrease X sts evenly means to place your decs even spaced around. So For 12 dec sts over 68 you would decrease about every 5 or 6 sts.

M1k is to make 1 knitwise.

sue