Reverse Stich

[Ks92]

Help! I’m currently working on what will eventually become a dinosaur for a child. My last completed row was 30 hdc in a round for the body. The next step in the pattern says to “Lay the body flat and find the middle of the last row. Reserve 2 stitches at the center (1 at front of body and 1 at back of body) use stitch marker to mark. This will leave 14 stitches on each side where you will work the legs”. I’m completely not understanding what’s being asked of me here 😩 is anyone able to provide any tips for me? 

Edited November 5, 2022 by Ks92
Typo

[Granny Square]

Welcome to the 'ville!

You have 30 stiches.  When you have an even number of stitches, the half way mark is between 2 stitches (example, for 4 stitches, the half way mark is the between numbers 2 & 3:  1, 2, - 3, 4.    When you have an odd number of stitches, the middle is a stitch 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 

So for 30 stitches, an even number which is 15x2, the halfway spot is between the 15th and 16 stitches.  If you 'reserve' those 2 stitches, there will be 14 left over on either side--right?

Deep breath.  There is a lot of math in crochet, but it's usually plain arithmetic like this.  Although I didn't need it for this question, I keep my little calculator in my project bag  at all times just in case!

If you don't have a 'formal' stitch marker, I use bobby pins (they work well and are cheap so if you lose one it's not a big deal), but you could use a short piece of yarn, or probably a  safety pin would work .

edited to add - the reserved 2 stitches are undoubtedly the front or back 'crotch' of the body between the legs; it helps to visualize why you are doing something when the pattern is telling you to do a certain maneuver that seems bizarre at first.  So you are probably reserving these stitches to come back to them later.

 

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by Granny Square