Knitting problem with pattern?

Question

I'm doing a pattern, and the instructions say this:

"Maintaining st. patts. as est., begin short row shaping as follows:

rows 20: work 16 sts.,

*bring yarn forward as if to p, sl next st, bring yarn back as if to knit, sl st back to left needle, turn and work back as though finishing a WS row*"

I don't understand that part of the instructions. When it says to work 16 sts, does it mean to make it so that there are 16 sts (decrease) since I have 32 sts? Or just work with 16 sts? I'm so confused.

Answer 1

Im not a knitting expert, but i do believe it means work with 16 sts, not to decrease. I think I might have had a pattern that had something like that in it and i do believe that is what i did.

Answer 2

Short row shaping is when you knit only part of the stitches on the left needle before turning them and working back.  What the section you've highlighted is telling you is how to do this so that when you eventually knit all the stitches again you won't have a hole in the fabric.    Bring your yarn to the front as if you are going to purl the next stitch, but just slip that stitch to the right needle without working it.  Now bring your yarn back to the back of the knitting as if to knit the next stitch.  Move the slipped stitch, again without working it, back to the left needle.  Now turn your work around to work back. You'll have 16 stitches that weren't knit before on the right needle, and be working on the 16 (or part of them) stitches you just finished.  Short row shaping gives you some extra ease by means of working extra rows over some stitches, much like darts in blouses.

Answer 3

work 16 sts means knit in the patern established for 16 sts, then you start the short row shaping (the next part).  Short row shaping means that you are knitting only part of the row and not completing the complete row.  Then extra material is built up in the middle of the row.  That's how sock heels are made.