Help with Debbie Bliss "Alex"

[pathfinder]

I'm still working on the Alex from DB. I got through the two front halves and the back and now I'm struggling with the collar. My problem is with holes. There is this part that reads: k12, turn, sl 1, p9, k2 and that I should do that for two rows. The consecutive rows have similar instructions. So, what I'm doing is: knitting the twelve then turning the knitting to the purl side, leaving the yarn in front, slipping the stitch onto the right needle, then pearling the rest till the last two that I knit. The next row I do the same, and then the next row on to the next 28, turn, sl1, p25, k2. Every time I do this I get a hole. Do you guys think I'm supposed to have this hole? I don't see it on the picture, but perhaps since it doesn't show. Is this a decorative thing? My teacher came to the same conclusion, that it is somehow supposed to be that way, but I'm not convinced. Am I doing something wrong? I've done the first ten rows, including ripping them out several times to figure it out, but I can redo them if anyone has a clue. If not, I'll just have to accept the holes as part of the pattern and hope that the mystery will be revealed when I put it together...

Hoping for clarity, Kim

[suzeeq]

There will be holes, what you're doing is making short rows. This pattern doesn't instruct you to, but there's a way to wrap the yarn around the slip stitch, then when you knit back the long rows pick up the wrap and knit it with the slip st and it closes up the holes. Check out this article - Short rows at knitty

[pathfinder]

Oh, thank you, thank you, Suzeeq! I was really thinking I was doing something terribly wrong. I will examine the knitty article thoroughly. I'm so glad there is an answer. I really hated to have holes!

[suzeeq]

You can wrap the sts even when the pattern doesn't say to.