Disappointment in knitting

This is the knitted top from Burda WOF 5/2005. I knew I was in trouble when the instructions asked for k4tog to form the v neckline. I tried different combinations because I could not get four stitches to become one and even if I could I knew it was not pretty. Well as you can see my best effort turned out pretty bad. I went ahead and attached the ribbed straps after I blocked the pieces hoping that it would be okay... well, at least I was able to try it on and it fits well.
I knew if anyone could help me it was May (maystudio.blogspot.com, if you haven't seen her work you should it is amazing! I wrote and she quickly responded with a couple of options for me to try. One includes charting my stitches so that I can redesign the neckline by just using k2tog. I'll let you know how it goes!