Knitting help: 'X and following Xth rows'

[HappyAsASandboy]

I'm half way up a baby cardigan and can't figure out how to complete the raglan sleeves.

The pattern for the back is to knit the base of the back in garter stich until it's 11cm deep, then there is a set of six rows to start the raglan:

[51 sts]
1(RS): P4, K2tog, K to last 6 sts, K2tog tbl, P4
2: Knit
3: P4, K to last 4 sts, P4
4: Knit
5: P4, K to last 4 sts, P4
6: Knit

The pattern then says:

Cont as set, dec 1 st at each end of next and 6 foll 6th rows, then on 6 foll 4th rows. [29 sts]

I am fine knitting the set, but I'm not sure what the 'X foll Yth rows' bit means. I've asked two knitters in RL and they both said different things. They both said to knit the set once as in the pattern, then again as the 'next' instruction, then 6 more times (so 8 times in total) (so reading the 'dec 1 st at end of each row' to be the K2tog within row 1 of the set), then they disagreed:

One said to knit the set 3 more times, but only knitting the first 4 rows of the set.

The other said to knit the whole set of 6 rows 3 more times but moving the K2tog from row 1 of the set to row 4.

Can anyone advise? Sorry the post is so long, but I wanted to put in as much info as I could ....

Ok.... I've asked my mum.... who reckons....

On the 6th row - you need to repeat it 6 times - but decrease on every 6th row. You work 36 rows alotogether.

and
on the next bit you decrease on every 4th row, and repeat it 6 times - so it's 24 rows in total.

(all double dutch to me, but that's what my resident knitting expert reckons!) :)

Thanks CupcakesHay, that really helps (despite me putting a typo in the original pattern ). I think your mum is agreeing with the first of my 'real lifers' i.e. to carry on repeating but doing the decreasing on every 4th row.

In case anyone is confused by my original post, it should have been:

Cont as set, dec 1 st at each end of next and 6 foll 6th rows, then on 3 foll 4th rows. [29 sts]

rather than

Cont as set, dec 1 st at each end of next and 6 foll 6th rows, then on 6 foll 4th rows. [29 sts]

This should explain why my real lifers were recommending doing anything in threes!

Thanks for the help CupcakesHay - am off to try it and see what happens now .

That seems quite a strange pattern to me, where you decrease for the raglan only once (on every side)every 6 rows and work 50 rows to decrease 20 stitches. Usually a raglan is worked decreasing either side alternating rows.
Apart from that, you decrease (1+6+3) x 2 stitches = 20 stitches, so if you start with 51 stitches, you would end up with 31 stitches.That would be solved by decreasing 8 times, but you would get 56 rows.
I would measure after you have done the first decreases and see how many cms you've got.
Usually baby jackets start the raglan about half way so you would get about 22 cms in the whole length.
Hope that makes any sense to you.

It does seem like it is a strange pattern - everyone I've asked has got confused, and it is marked as an 'Easy' pattern in my Rowan book!

I have just finished the back. I decided to knit the set of 6 rows once as it is placed in the pattern, then another set of 6 (dec on first row of 6) for the 'next' statement, then another 6 times, decreasing on each of the first rows of the set. Then I cut the set down to 4 rows and knitted it 3 times, decreasing on each of the first rows.

I've ended up with 29 stitches as hoped, and the raglan shaping is about half of the total height of the back, so that ties in with DutchOma's advice.

I'll carry on with the fronts and sleeves now, trying to interpret the rest of the 'Xth foll Yth row' statements in the same way, then I'll see if I can fit the parts together!

I just wish the patterns would set out instructions for each row, rather than tying things up in complicated sentences like Xth following Yth row.

Thanks for your help CupcakesHay and DutchOma . I'll come back and update if I can get it all to stitch together at the end ....

That sounds ok to me. Just make sure that you do the other raglans (fronts and sleeves) exactly the same, then it should fit.
It would be a very long pattern if they wrote out every row.

Unfortunately Rowan are notorious for errata in their patterns.

Decreasing in the way you suggest is not a strictly raglan style it is just a classic sleeve structure.

I am trying to knit a hooded jacket, in the 2nd size I am doing the back but have come to the deceasing part It said to end on a wrong side ,which I have , It says decrease 1st sts both ends which is fine Ive done that then every 7th row , but my dilemma is this do I count the first row that I decreased on or actually count 7 rows which would be on a purl side to decrease . thank you for any help

@hopscoth as you are working and odd number of rows between your decreases you will work some with the right side of your work facing you and some with the wrong side of your work facing you.

Assuming you are doing stocking stitch and your knit row is the right side and purl row is the wrong side.

So you work your first decrease on a knit row. Then the next row (purl) is row 1, knit is row 2, purl row 3, knit row 4, purl row 5, knit row 6. For the 7th row you'll have the wrong side facing towards you and you work your decreases.

You then start counting your 7 rows again. Knit (1st row), purl (2nd), knit, purl, knit, purl (6th row) and decrease on the 7th row which is a knit.

Hope that's clear.

Thank you Woollybackswife, you have made it so plain and easy to understand . I haven't knitted in years but my daughter , said mum will you try and knit this for me so i'm trying lol. Thank you so much for your help it is appreciated.

You're welcome hopscoth. I hope it turns out beautifully and your daughter enjoys wearing it.