stuck!!

[chapung]

i've been moving along on my first pattern, but i've come to a standstill again.. the goal is to make a stub, and the pattern says to:

(starting with a couple st st rows of 12 sts)
next row: K7, turn and work on these sts only.
next row: P3, turn and work on these sts only
next row: knit.

?? what exactly does "work on these sts only" mean? also, how do i transition from a row with 7 stitches to a row with 3 stitches without decreasing? what happens to the four remaining stitches on the needle?

[Mirl56]

(starting with a couple st st rows of 12 sts)
next row: K7, turn and work on these sts only.

just knit the first 7 and turn. they want you to not worry about not having knit the remaining 5 on that row. just stop knitting and turn after the first 7.

next row: P3, turn and work on these sts only

on this row just purl 3. stop and turn. again, they want you to not worry about nothaving purled the rest of the row.

on the next row you'll knit across the whole row. Having purled those 3 stitches will make your stub.

[Mirl56]

actually, it seems like there should be more. what comes after the last row that says knit. It could be you are still working on just those 3 stitches and you should knit just those 3 and turn. What comes next?

and canyou post a link to the pattern or even just a pic of the finished item?

[suzeeq]

These are 'short rows' and they're done for shaping; you work only on some of the sts for a few rows, then knit the 'leftover' stitches on a later row.

[chapung]

fiddled around with some extra yarn and finally figured it out with the help of your comments!

thanks a ton