BellaOnline Forums Hobbies and Crafts Knitting Hi, New here - And need help with a hat pattern

Hello! I'm looking forward to browsing these topics....I'm sure they will be really helpful on my upcoming projects! I'm new to knitting and my first project was a knitted two color cardigan that I made for my mom for Christmas. Now I am working on a ribbed hat and have a question about the pattern. Since I am so new to this, I'm not sure exactly what it means, so before I go any further I wanted to ask!

I am at the point where I am beginning to decrease. I am working in the round and the whole hat up to this point has been k2 p2 ribbing. (I also should mention that if anyone has the Knit Simple Holiday 2006 edition, this is hat pattern D on page 85) Now, it says:
"Crown Shaping (ribbed version)
Note: For Torino Bulky version (MINE), work rnds 1-7 only
Rnd 1: *k2, p2tog; rep from * to end. Work 3 rnds even.
Rnd 5: *k2tog, p1; rep from * to end. Work 2 rnds even.
Rnd 8: *k2tog, p2tog; rep from * to end. Work 1 rnd even.
Rnd 10: *k2tog; rep from * to end.
Cut yarn..." etc it tells me to cinch tightly to close. I understand that, I know what k2 and p2tog are, etc. What I am not sure of is the "Work X rnds even" part. What exactly does that mean??? How I originally took it, was to do that first round, then 3 more.....but that is only 4 rounds. Why is the next instruction at 5 rounds??? I'm lost.

Thanks in advance for any help!!!

"Work X rounds even" means just to work straight with no shaping.

Usually with knitted hats there will be a few stitches left at the top which form a neat circle. What you do is thread the yarn on a wool needle and take it through all the stitches in the manner of a back stitch two or three times, then I usually use the end for the seam if there is one (so leave it nice and long) to minimise bulky finishing. Then darn it in to the inside of the hat.