For patterns you need to know the abbreviations eg K1 =knit 1 stitch and P1=Purl 1 stitch. Thenyou need a sheet of plain paper to mark off each row as you do it eg row 1 might be Knit and row 2 purl, so you need to know where you are until you are confident enough just to look at the garment and see that. Ribbin means knit and purl alternate stitches and you may be told to do 2 cms, so keep a row tally and then the other half of the garment will be the same. Any help?