i need help reading this knitting pattern.?

Question

i am knitting for the first time on circular needles and am making a beret for my daughter.

The directions say:
Cast on 80 stitches onto circular needles and work in rounds of K 1, P 1 Rib for 2 inches.
Next Round *K 2, M1; repeat from * around –120 sts. Change to circular St st and work for 6 inches.

My questions

does*K2 means knit 2 stitches?

M1 means to add a stitch, correct?

repeat from * means to knit 2 and add 1 stitch until my piece has 120 stitches, correct?

and finally, St st is to simple do regular knit stitch, right?

Please help. I can't go on knitting until I have answers. Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi.
k2 does just mean knit two stitches.
m1 or Make 1 is a specific kind of increase.
you spread apart the last stitch you knitted and the next one so you can clearly see the bar running through the last row of stitches. You pull that bar up onto your left needle, make sure it leans the same way as all your other stitches. knit through the back of that loop and switch it to your right needle. There, you have made a new stitch that is virtually invisible.(supposedly, mine aren't even though i do it right.) There should not be a large hole where you made the new stitch.

St St is referring to stockinette or stocking stitch. while knitting in a circle it is just knitting every row.

Yes, repeat from * means to knit 2 and add 1 stitch until you have finished the row at which point you should have 120 stitches. Remember to count them at the end oof the row.

good luck with your pattern.

Answer 2

You're right; k2, m1 means knit the first stitch, knit the second stitch, make (add) a stitch. You do it all the way around; at the end of the round you should have 120 stitches. Use a stitch marker to mark the beginning of your rounds, starting with the first round. When you come to it, you just slip it onto the other needle. If you don't have stitch markers, you can use a bent paper clip or a piece of yarn tied into a loop.

Circular st st does mean just knit stitches every round.

You might find www.knittinghelp.com helpful. There are videos demonstrating just about every knitting technique and stitch I've ever heard of.

Answer 3

K2 does mean Knit 2 stitches.
It looks like you do add 40 stitches, so M1 probably does mean increase 1.
Repeat from * does mean you go around the whole thing once doing the K2M1 pattern, leaving you with 120 stitches. They say "repeat from *" so you don't accidentally repeat all the ribbing, too.
St st stands for stockinette stitch, which means normal knitting. If you were on straight needles, you'd knit all the way across the front and purl all the way across the back, and that would be the stockinette stitch or st st. On circular needles, you knit all the way around -- and around -- and around -- without ever needing to purl. That gives you the stockinette stitch, revised for circular needles. That's why they call it circular st st.