So here’s what to do. To make the smallest size (2), you would Cast On 52 stitches. For the medium size  (4), you would Cast On 58 stitches. Where there’s no number in parentheses, you do what it says. For  instance, if it said Knit 5 rows, then you would do that for all sizes. If it said Knit 5 (7, 9) rows, you’d knit  as many rows as indicated for your size (5 rows for the smallest size, 7 rows for the medium size, 9 rows  for the largest size). Where there’s something in parentheses, you stick with the number in the position  that correlates to the number in the sizing.  Asterisks are used to indicate the repeating parts of patterns. Here’s an example: 1st row: (RS). P2. *K2.  P2. Rep from * to end of row.  What that means is that you’re going to work the stitches between the asterisks as many times as  indicated. You will work P 2, then k 2, p 2, k 2, p 2, repeating the k 2, p 2 part until you reach the end of  the row.  There are also times when there will be two sets of asterisks: a single, a double, and another single in  the same row. If that’s the case, you repeat from * to * as many times as indicated. Then, you work from  * to ** for the last repeat and finish the row as indicated. This is sometimes done to visually balance a  pattern. Also, there may be pairs of asterisks to tell you what to repeat for a major part of a pattern. For  instance, the back and front of a sweater are knit the same way except for how you shape the armholes  or the neck. The instructions for the front might start with **. Then, where the armhole shaping starts,  there might be **. The back would say Work from ** to **. That basically tells you to go back to the  instructions for the front and work them to that point for the back.  Sometimes brackets are used instead of parentheses for sizing. Other times, they’re used similarly to  asterisks to indicate that something is repeated. Let’s say you have instructions that read *k 2, p 2+ 6  times. In this case, you’d knit 2 and purl 2, then repeat the k 2 and p 2 5 more times. If the brackets  weren’t used, you might not know what part of the step you were supposed to repeat 6 times.  61 BRACKETS [ ]  ASTERISKS * 