Knitting pattern help please

[piemashandliquer]

I am knitting a beginner level pattern and it says:
Purl 8 rows, ending with a WS row. What does WS mean? They don't give the abbreviations!

Thanks in advance

wrong side row :) so you have the right side facing you ready to do the next inctruction

Wrong side

RS - right side - so on a jumper the side that would face the world rather than your belly

Thank you both, but I don't quite follow, could you explain further please?

Have you done any stocking stitch prior to purling 8 rows? If so the right side would be the flat side facing you on the needle and the wrong side would be the bumpy one.

If it's all purl so far then i'd guess that an odd numbered row is wrong side?

I'm a beginner myself though so probably not much help!

Can I suggest you visit youtube. It's fantastic, there are lovely knitters who give great instructions. I can knit but have learn a lot from there.

I am so surprised it says "purl" 8 rows since for a beginner knitting would be much easier than purling and the result would be the same.

It is also more difficult to establish which is the right side and which the wrong side and in a way it does not matter a great deal.

Which pattern is it, because I have a sneaky feeling that I have confused, more than helped you and seeing the pattern it might be easier to help.

Thank you Dutchoma, I did the first eight rows last night and got in a bit of a pickle with it. I did have a look on Youtube but it didnt really help me with this one! here is the link:

www.coatscrafts.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/20CB6274-7574-46D2-A66B-64407D1295A6/72379/pj_MadgeHat.pdf

Could I just do 8 rows of garter instead?

Assuming that the first row of your pattern is a right side row...

If you cast on using the thumb method then your "tail" is on the right hand side of your work when the right side of the work is facing you.

If you cast on using the two needle method then your "tail" is on the left hand side of the work when the right side is facing you.

Is it the hat? Yes, you can do the 8 rows at the beginning in garter stitch, but if you have already done them in purl, leave it. Just count the 'ribbles' and once you have four of them on both sides you have done 8 rows.
You also then have the right side facing. Tie a bit of thread to the side that is facing you to remind you of what the right side is.
Beginner pattern ha! You are doing very well.

Thank you for your help. I did the 8 rows of purl but having never done this before I wasnt sure about where to position the yarn at the start of each row and where the knitting should be facing, sorry not making much sense! The edges dont look right, so I think I will rip it back and start again with garter.

I wouldn't worry too much about right side and wrong side. Just do your eight rows in purl and then carry on. Mark down the rows on a piece of paper as you go. Take a close look at the photo and the edge of the hat and then look at the edge of your knitting. There should be a slight difference in the two sides. Hopefully. The side like the photo will be your right side. Hope I haven't confused you!

Yes, having seen a fair few beginners in my time I know just what you mean. See if you can't find a knitter to show you, it makes it so much easier. Look on Ravelry (ravelry.com) under 'groups' to find one in your area. They are world wide.