A Knitter’s Blog

Often customers ask me how they can keep their decreases matched when decreasing in pattern or when the decreases fall on the wrong side of  the fabric in stockinette.

Most of us are familiar with the decreases used with knit stitches. The first one we learn is k 2 together aka k2tog. K2tog causes the decrease stitch to slant to the right on the side of the fabric on which it is worked and slants to the left on the opposite side.

In the old days, the next decrease we learned was slip the next stitch, knit the next stitch, pass the slipped stitch over the knit stitch or psso. This decrease slants to the left on the side of the fabric on which it is worked, and to the right on the opposite side.

In the last twenty years, thanks to Elizabeth Zimmermann, ssk became the left slanting decrease of choice. Work ssk by slipping the first stitch from the left needle to the right needle, slip the next stitch on the left needle to the right needle. Insert the left needle point into the front of the two slipped stitches on the right needle, and knit.

The above decreases are all a part of Knitting 101. But a problem arises when we need to decrease on the purl side in stockinette or we are using a textured pattern and need to decrease purl stitches in the pattern. The question arises, how do we match the left slant or the right slant of previous knit decreases, or just manage to create the same direction of our decreases on one side of a seam.

The first purl decrease that we learn is purl two stitches together, or p2tog. What is never spoken is that a p2tog slants to the left on the side on which it is worked  and slants to the right on the opposite side.

It took me years to realize that there is a second purl decrease, purl two stitches together through the back loops or p2togtbl. To implement the p2togtbl,  insert the right needle into the back loop of the second stitch on the left needle from left to right, and then through the first stitch on the left needle. Purl. This decrease slants to the right on the side on which it is worked and to the left on the opposite side of the fabric.

In most cases, we work our decreases on the right side, or public face, of the fabric. Having the decreases move diagonally in the chosen direction is very straigthforward when working in stockinette stitch or reverse stockinette.

Stockinette: Public Side 

K2tog - slant right

SSK - slant left

Reverse Stockinette: Public Side 

P2togtbl - slant right

P2tog - slant left

What if you are working in stockinette and you are instructed to decrease on a wrong side row (the purl side)? Stop for a moment, and look at the decrease column on the right side corresponding with your decrease. Does it slant or point to the right or to the left. Decide which, and then just remember that the purl decrease in the same column needs to be worked to correspond with the slant on the public side.

For example, if your last decrease on the public side was a k2tog, you know that the k2tog slants to the right on the public side and to the left on the wrong side. Therefore, on the wrong side you would need to work a left slanting decrease. In this case, p2tog. If it had been an ssk on the public side you would work a p2togtbl on the work side.

Once you learn the direction of each decrease, you will be able to work matching wrong side decreases or decreases in textured patterns with ease.

Filed under: Knitting, Techniques by cwulster