Need Help with V-Neck Line

[fairydust]

Hi,

I'm a beginner knitter, knitting my first top (a v-neck), which is for a Barbie doll. The pattern is from Nicky Epstein's "Knit's for Barbie Doll" on page 27.

The back and front are worked in one piece to the underarm - I did this. Then it said to work the Right Back and I did that. Then it says to work the Front part – now this is the part where I get confused.

"Join yarn and p across next 19 sts from holder." -- I did this part.
V- Neck Shaping
P9, join new yarn and bind off center st, p9. Working both sides once, dec 1 st at each neck edge on next row, then every third row twice more – 6 sts. Work even until armhole measures same as right back. Bind off 6 sts each side.
1.) I don’t understand why I should purl the next 9 sts, when I have been working in stockinette stitch. Is the pattern wrong?
2.) Join new yarn - Now the neckline edge is supposed to be a different color, is this where I change the color?, or am I supposed to have two balls of the same color yarn to finish shaping neckline and then later use a crochet hook for the edging?
3.) When binding off the center stitch, which way do I bind it off? Over the purled stitch to the right, over the unpurled stitch to the left? I’m very confused about this part, I’ve never had to bind off from the center.

[Ingrid]

If they have you purling, then the wrong side should be facing you as you work the first row. But since they had you purl to get the stitches back on the needle, then there is a mistake. Just knit instead of purl--whatever works to keep the stockinette in place.

Binding off in the center is just like binding off at the end. Work 2, the lift the first stitch over the second, work 1, lift over. Just like regular binding off. Count the stitches that you lift off, and the remaining stitch on the needle gets counted as one of your final 9.

Use the same color yarn as you have been. You're only working with two strands because the sides of the neck are not connected anymore and are worked with their own strand. The edge color will come later.