Manly sweater HELP!!!

[tinshee]

Hi all. I'm a fairly new knitter and am working on the Manly Sweater from SnB. (I've already completed the Pin Up Queen, which was my first grown up sweater I made.)

I have searched your forums (along with others including knithappens) and have read that the shoulder and neck shaping is a pain in the butt. But I'm still lost. :(

I've just come to the top of the back of the sweater where the pattern says:

Right side: BO 8 sts, work 28 sts, turn. Place rem sts on a holder. Dec 1 st from the neck edge every row 4 times; at the same time BO 8 sts from the shoulder edge 3 times. Break off yarn.

This is what I think it's telling me to do. Please help!

I've just ended a WS row.
Now BO 8.
work 28 sts.
put the sts I haven't worked on a holder.
turn to continue working the row I just stopped.

dec 1
work 27
turn
BO 8
work 19
turn

dec 1
work 18
turn
BO 8
work 10
turn

dec 1
work 9
turn
BO 8
work 1
turn

This is clearly wrong, since I end with just one stitch. Or is it? I'm so confused....

[suzeeq]

That's pretty much right, except you need to k2tog at the end of the RS rows, you missed those.

BO 8 sts, knit to 2 sts before the neck edge and k2tog. Turn and p2tog, finish the row.

[tinshee]

Okay... thanks. But with the extra decrease it seems like I would run out of stitches before I could repeat 3-4 times? And... it means I am supposed to end up with only one stitch left? Do I bind that off?

Sorry if this is straight forward. I'm still learning!

[suzeeq]

No you won't end up with one st left. You dec at the neck edge 4 times, that's 4 sts less, and at the armhole edge BO 8 sts 3 more times, that's 24 sts. You already bound off 8 sts, leaving you with 28. 24 and 4 is 28 sts so you use up all of them.

[tinshee]

Ok, thank. Geez. I'm a math teacher- you'd think I could figure it out!!! LOL

So does this make sense? It seems that I end up with 6 extra stitches at the end, but that seems to be what I read in others' posts on this same issue...

I've just ended a WS row.
Now BO 8.
work 28 sts.
put the sts I haven't worked on a holder.
turn to continue working the row I just stopped.

p2tog
work 26
turn
BO 8
work 16
k2tog
turn

p2tog
work 16
turn
BO 8
work 6
k2tog

p2tog
work 6
turn
BO 6

What do you think?

[suzeeq]

Your math is off about halfway.... You have 'work 16' on 2 rows, the 2nd one of those rows should be work 14. Or maybe not, it's too confusing to work out in your head and on paper, easier to just knit it.

BO 8, knit 28, put sts on holder, turn. P2tog, p to the end, turn. BO 8, knit to the end, k2tog, turn. P2tog, p to the end, turn. BO 8, knit to the end, k2tog, turn. BO 8, you're done, or you can purl those sts and BO 8 on the knit row.

[tinshee]

Thanks so much Suzeeq!!!!

I tried a sample first to see how it went, and then just dove right in.

For anyone else who is looking for help here... and is a little too left brained, like me... (LOL) this is how it turned out:

I ended a WS row.
BO 8.
work 28 sts.
put the sts I haven't worked on a holder.
turn to continue working the row I just stopped.

p2tog
work 26
turn
BO 8
work 17
k2tog
turn

p2tog
work 17
turn
BO 8
work 7
k2tog

p2tog
work 7
turn
BO 8

(the reason the number shows up twice- like 17- is because of the one left over from the 2tog's. )

[suzeeq]

As long as it worked!