I am knitting a jumper for my husband, and keep falling at the first hurdle. It's a top-down construction, so I'm starting at the neck. Please don't be put off if you don't usually knit in the round or top-down, as my question's not about that.
The stitches on the needle are the edges of the front on either end, then the sleeves, then the back. So in order they are edge, sleeve, back, sleeve, edge, separated by markers. The idea is that you keep increasing before and after the markers until there are 12 stitches on either end then join the fronts after casting on what will become the front neck. You can see this in the close up of the neckline. The ribbing will be picked up later, so just look at the patterned bit.
To clarify - what I have on the needles is still being worked back and forth, and will become the neckline when more stitches are added for the centre front neck and the work is joined in the round.
My problem is that in the set up row one side has 1 stitch before the marker when you look at it (see set-up row), and the other has 2 stitches before it, so one end has an odd number of stitches and the other even. You add the same number of stitches to each end every time, so this is not going to change, unless I'm missing something. I've pulled it back twice already, but can't work it so that I get 12 stitches on either end ready to cast on and join in the round to complete the neck.
I've knitted this pattern before, and it worked somehow (although I may have fudged it 
), but I'm stumped. Can anyone help please?
A drop in the ocean in the great schemes of things....but replicated by how many more
