Crochet help, wtf

[bigmamag]

I think I've got a few crochet people on the flist, so I'll ask this here.

I'm making mittens, and I'm using this pattern. I've never seen the following direction before:

Working in both lps, work 1 (2, 3, 4, 4, 5) rnds even.
or
Shape Thumb Gusset: Ch 1, sc in first 12 sts, [make (2, 3, 2, 3) sc in next sc] (2, 1, 2, 1) times, place a marker in the

Comments

[spuffyduds]

I'm much more of a knitter, but I THINK what is happening here is the same thing that would happen in a knitting pattern--the first number given is for if you're making the smallest-size version of the pattern (preemie, in this case) and the numbers following it are for "next size up, COMMA, NEXT size up, COMMA, and so on...

Does that make sense? It's confusing visually, so often it helps to go through the pattern before you start, and if you're always going to be using "third option from the left" or whatever, highlight or circle that number whenever you're presented with options in parentheses.

[bigmamag]

Now THAT makes sense. I was doing that at first, but then I second-guessed myself and decided to go here before my mitten went in the nutty direction. :/ Thanks!

[spuffyduds]

Oh, and for the bracketed instructions followed by parenthetical numbers, I THINK what they're saying is "follow all the instructions within the brackets, for the number of TIMES given in the parentheses that applies to the size of the mittens you're making."

[bigmamag]

Ugh, you're telling me, and there's even different ways they're written! And I had to pull a bunch of stiches because I was off by one. :/ fml, lol.

[amothea]

I crochet but I also don't know all the terms yet. :( Sorry I couldn't help. But good question!