Can't figure out how to stitch from the instruction

[Milaybourn]

Hello

I've just started doing crochet, and I'm making a stuffed animal for my child. Unfortunately I'm stuck trying to make the legs, as I can't figure out how to do this correctly to make enough stitches.

Initially I make a magic ring with 6 sc and join that. Then I do 2 sc in each st anf have a total of 12 stitches. Here comes my problem: 2 dc in first 3 sts (got that covered), 2 hdc in next 2 sts (unsure if I'm meant to "stack" them?), 2 sc in next 5 sts (got that covered), 2 hdc in last 2 sts and join. It should make 24 sts, but I don't get that being stuck not knowing how to properly do the 2 hdc. 

Any help is much appreciated

[Granny Square]

"2 dc in first 3 sts (got that covered)"  Just to make sure you did, that wording normally means 2 dc into each of the first 3 sts - so that would turn 3 stitches into 6

"2 hdc in next 2 sts (unsure if I'm meant to "stack" them?)", no, interesting idea tho; it's the same concept as above, 2 hdc in each of the next 2 sts, turning 2 stitches into 4

"2 sc in next 5 sts (got that covered)", same concept again, this turns 5 sts into 10

"2 hdc in last 2 sts and join." I think you know what I'm going to say, this turns 2 stitches into 4

"It should make 24 sts," it does, add up the bold numbers -- 6+4+10+4=24

Edited January 29, 2021 by Granny Square

[Granny Square]

Looking at this again, I'm wondering how did you interpret the first line (2 DC into the first 3 sts)?  Did you think somehow that you had to skip 1 of the 3 stitches to get 2?  Not expecting an answer--I wasn't meaning to put you on the spot, but as a new crocheter I could see that as being logical. 

I just wanted to point out that if the pattern wanted to turn 3 sts into 2,(decreasing 1 stitch in that spot)  it would have said (something like) "dctog, dc in next stitch" instead.  DC2tog=make a DC just short of the last YO and pull thru in 1 stitch, into that same stitch make another DC just short of the last YO and pull thru , then yarn over and pull thru all the loops (should be 3 loops on the hook, there's always 1 more loop on your hook than the number you are 'togethering') to finish them both together.  

Likewise, the pattern could have worded "2 DC into the first 3 sts" as "inc in the first 3 stitches", because "inc" is conventionally understood to mean "put 2 sts into 1 stitch".  There are variations, like putting more than 1 stitch into 1 stitch, but the pattern should have defined those terms to be clear.  Since you're new, it's always a good idea to look for a 'special stitches' area in a pattern to make sure what to expect.

This site is might be a good one to bookmark, this is the main page - all sorts of things in the menu on the right side.

[Milaybourn]

23 hours ago, Granny Square said:

Looking at this again, I'm wondering how did you interpret the first line (2 DC into the first 3 sts)?  Did you think somehow that you had to skip 1 of the 3 stitches to get 2?  Not expecting an answer--I wasn't meaning to put you on the spot, but as a new crocheter I could see that as being logical. 

I just wanted to point out that if the pattern wanted to turn 3 sts into 2,(decreasing 1 stitch in that spot)  it would have said (something like) "dctog, dc in next stitch" instead.  DC2tog=make a DC just short of the last YO and pull thru in 1 stitch, into that same stitch make another DC just short of the last YO and pull thru , then yarn over and pull thru all the loops (should be 3 loops on the hook, there's always 1 more loop on your hook than the number you are 'togethering') to finish them both together.  

Likewise, the pattern could have worded "2 DC into the first 3 sts" as "inc in the first 3 stitches", because "inc" is conventionally understood to mean "put 2 sts into 1 stitch".  There are variations, like putting more than 1 stitch into 1 stitch, but the pattern should have defined those terms to be clear.  Since you're new, it's always a good idea to look for a 'special stitches' area in a pattern to make sure what to expect.

This site is might be a good one to bookmark, this is the main page - all sorts of things in the menu on the right side.

Thank you for your reply!

With what you said I realised I did indeed not do the stitches right at all. I managed to find a video that showed how to do a similar stitch, and I had completely missed how I had to start in the same stitch for the second one too.

Anyway, I finally managed to get to 24 stitches so thank you very much!

[Granny Square]

I'm gland, and you're welcome!  Crochet patterns are a little like reading a different language; you know what each English word means, but the 'Crochet-ish' meaning conveyed by how the words are put together follows specific rules.