No matter what I do, I seem to be unable to make my left leaning decreases anywhere near as neat as my right leaning (k2tog) decreases. It's particularly noticeable on ( these baby mittensCollapse ) I've tried various different methods of left leaning decrease, e.g. (ssk), (s1, k1, psso), (k2tog tbl), but none of them seem to make decreases that are sufficiently symmetrical for my liking.
Does anybody have any suggestions for how I might achieve improved symmetry?
I started to work on this cardigan: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/aeneas by Norah Gaughan, but after 9 rows of the back part I got stuck and I need help. Can you please explain me how should I proceed with the pattern. Here is the part of the pattern:
Cast on 82 sts
est pats (rs)- work 24 sts in moss st, p2 and keep in rev st st, work chart A over 30 sts, p2 and keep in rev stst, work 24 sts in moss st. Keeping to pat, work 9 rows straight.
Next (dec) row (rs)-k1, k2tog, work to last 3sts, ssk, k1. Rep dec row ecery 10th row once, then every 8th row twice. Now work dec as follows:
rep dec row (every 4th row once, every 2nd row once) 7 times, then every 2nd row once-34sts.
Here are my questions:
After cast on I did rs first according to the pattern. At what row should I start decrease (10 or 11)? On right side or on wrong side?
every 4th row once, every 2nd row once: will it be in the end equal to every 2nd row? Or it will be dec on 4th row, then after that dec on 2nd row (total 6th row) and then dec on the 4th row (total 10th row) etc?
I'm making my very first ever sweater! It's knitting up faster than I ever expected it to. I'm about to start shaping the raglan armhole part of the back of the sweater. The directions say to bind off 2 stitches at the beginning of the next 2 rows. Should I use some kind of stretchy bindoff? Or is a standard non-stretchy method ok?
Also, it says to decrease 1 stitch each side, every other row following that. Can I just knit two together at the beginning and end of each knit row (It's stockinette)? Or knit the first stitch, then k2tog, and then at the end k2tog, k1?
Thanks you wonderful peeps!
EDIT: It has occurred to me that a) stretch vs. no stretch when we're talking about only two stitches on each side is pretty negligible ANYWAY. So silly question. And the decreases I could have figured if my brain weren't so fried. ;) Thanks for the input on my so simple questions. I am all anxious about this project since it is my First Sweater, and I'm desperately hoping it comes out wearable, so I'm obsessively attending to all the details. :)
As long as we're still here...any other first sweater hints? I swatched, washed and then measured to get gauge. So hopefully that part will work out alright. Any other rookie mistakes?
I've got a question about increases. I'm working on Snapdragon Flip Top mitts (Ravelry link), and line 10 of the cuff pattern reads:
Rnd 10: *p3, C4B, p3, inc 4; rep from * to end
With the abbreviations being: C4B - sl2 sts to cable needle and hold at back, k2, k2 sts from cable needle inc 4 - k1, p1, k1, p1, k1 into next stitch
I understand the cable, but the inc 4 is confusing me. Is that calling for the k1, p1, k1, p1, k1 all being done into the next stitch, making five new stitches, or should I k1, p1, k1, p1 and then k1 into the next stitch, making one new stitch? Or am I overthinking this, like I tend to do?
I'm working on this beret (Ravelry link). It starts on size 10 DPNs for the band, then switches to size 11 circs for the main part of the hat. However, when I start the decreases, it's going to get too small to keep knitting on the circs, obviously, but the pattern doesn't specify switching the needles.
So my question is just this: Do you think I can do the decreases on the size 10 DPNs, or do I need size 11 DPNs, or does it even matter?
ETA: I know some of you love magic loop, but I can't get it to work for me so I'm really just asking about whether I can decrease on the size 10 DPNs or if I need to use 11s.
I am in the process of knitting a hat, and have decided that rather than have it come to a dome at the top like the vast majority of hats, I want it to come to a gradual point that will fold over -- pretty much just like the Cross-Country Chullo from Knitty.
So the thing is I am completely shite at doing the math for this kind of thing and I have absolutely no idea how frequently I need to decrease in order to achieve that end goal, and the pattern doesn't help much since the hat is knitted top-down and it's more of a triangle shape than what I have going. And I'm having a hard time finding any other free patterns that have the flap-over-top for me to improvise from.
If you want to just do the math for me, I've got 120 stitches at 6sts/in on the needles before any decreases, but I'd much rather be told how to do it myself since I know this will come up again. :)
A few weeks ago, I posted a request for help, because I was working on a ribbed baby hat and was trying to figure out how to decrease it without wrecking the ribs too much. A number of you offered great advice, and sarakateeven wrote out line-by-line instructions for me!
I had to adapt her instructions slightly to make the decrease less gradual, because the ribbed style with the gradual decrease made the hat too pointy. But the yarn I used was fine enough that the quicker decrease didn't look too squiggly. In fact, it turned out really well, I think!
I'm working on this baby hat, but I've decided I want to change the top. It's just a basic ribbed pattern, k3 p2, and the pattern is just a tube that is stitched together at the top so it's sort of squared off. (There's a photo at the link above if you need to see what I mean--mine isn't finished enough for a clear photo.)
But I would like to do a gradual decrease so that the top is rounded. I've done this before with stockinette patterns, but I'm worried that with this one, the decreasing will muck up the ribbing. Does anyone have any ideas for how I can decrease this to a rounded top but still have the ribbing look nice?
I must be doing something wrong.... I'm working on Owls (rav link), and in the pattern notes it suggests picking up the strand between the needles from the front and knitting through the back of the loop...
When I do this I get a hole... not a large hole, but it's big enough that it bothers me... I had the same problem with the gusset increases for Bella's Mittens...
KnittingHelp says these should be invisible increases, so why are they so obvious on my knitting? do they 'disappear' with blocking?
any other suggestions for m1 increases that won't show/make holes? maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist... the little holes just drive me nuts... alternatively my mother suggests when I'm done knitting to close the holes with some thread if they still bother me that badly... I think that's kind of stupid and will be just as obvious...
*edit*
Thank you all! I was in fact doing it wrong... I'll have to figure out how to fix the first row of increases, but I'm doing them right now. thank you for all your help!! :)
I am currently working on a sock pattern (from the Knit Me Up sock of the month club, so no link unfortunately) that is worked with fingering weight yarn and size 0 needles. I'm using size 0 bamboo DPNs if that matters; I tried using my 2.25mm Knitpicks circs but can't get gauge, so it's back to the DPNs since I don't have sz 0 Knitpicks circs yet.
The pattern calls for some k4tog's, worked following a row of plain stockinette. This is presenting quite the challenge. I can barely manage it, and I am really afraid of snapping a needle in the process. What I sorted out last night was that I could use a spare needle and put it through the 4 stitches, then wrap the yarn around the tip of that needle and one by one lift the 4 stitches off and over the new stitch. However, this is super tedious, really annoying, and downright frustrating. The other thing I did for half of them (they are paired decreases) was to do a k4tbl, which is somewhat easier, but this only works for half of them to keep consistent with the rest of the pattern.
So, I'm wondering if anyone else has any fabulous tips for working a k4tog, or perhaps alternate stitches that result in the same 4-stitch decrease? The yarn & pattern are fabulous but this stitch is absolutely killing me! I haven't got any needles smaller than size 0 and frankly prefer not to invest in any, since the size 0's are already pushing my limits of usability (I have RSI problems exacerbated by tiny-scale knitting :( ).
Working on Theresa Gaffey's "A Wisp of Mohair Tam" (purchased pattern/not online -- sorry) and I'm having an issue. The top shaping is as such: *K 17/18/19, k2t*, knit 1 round even, *knit 16/17/18, k2t*, and knit 1 round even. I'm to repeat this sequence of four rows until I get 66/72/78 stitches. I get this.
However the next line of direction is "Begin decreasing every round until 6 stitches remain. Cut yarn and draw through stitches." (The emphasis is in the pattern.) I've tried this (twice!) using the aforementioned decreases and it doesn't work (which may be obvious to more seasoned knitters than I). I've done some math and I think I've worked out a decrease pattern that will work. I've never done this before so can someone look at this and tell me if it makes sense?
I'm currently doing a series on increasing on my blog, and as an illustration to explaining ways one might incorporate increases into an existing stitch pattern, I've put up a pattern for ribbed armwarmers worked in fingering weight yarn.
I mention this for a few reasons: one, the question of how to incorporate increases comes up often; two, it's the Giftmas season, and these would be something one could work up quickly, and with fairly little yarn (any fingering weight or sock weight yarn will work fine, and you'll need less than 1 50g skein); and three, I haven't actually knitted these up, and it sure would be handy if someone wanted to do so and then let me have a picture.
I've seen "slip 1 - knit 2 together - pass the slipped stitch over" many times as a centered three-stitch decrease. In a stitch pattern I just came across, however, it calls for me to "knit 1 - knit 2 together - pass the knit stitch over" instead. I swatched and decided I like how this looks better with a slipped stitch so I'm just going to that instead, but I'm curious as to why one might knit that first stitch rather than slip it. Is there any reason for it beyond that it appealed aesthetically to the stitch pattern's creator?
I'm making a hat in the round using the seed stitch. I'm about to shape the crown and will need to decrease stitches. Basically, when I make hats and need to shape the crown, I knit 9, knit 2 together, knit around, knit 8, knit 2 together, knit around, and so on. I've made loads of hats in plain knit, even in the moss stitch, but this is different.
Any tips for decreasing and still keeping some resemblance of my pattern? Would psso-ing work better?
I'm quickly knitting up the Picture Hat by Katherine Misegades from A Gathering of Lace for a friend, and I have a question that's entirely to sate my own curiosity and not because of any problem I'm having with the chart.
At the very beginning of the pattern, the centered double decrease used is a Sl2tog-k1-p2sso. After row 25, however, it sticks with that decrease for the stockinette sections, but switches to using Sl1-k2tog-psso for the faggoted* sections.
Is there some particular reason why the designer would have wanted one particular decrease in one part of the pattern and not in the rest? It's not like k2tog versus ssk where there's an issue of what direction the stitches are slanting in, or am I missing something completely?
* Faggoting is an actual knitting technique stitch, before anybody assumes I mean something else.
I'm making a V-neck sweater that has its V-neck decreases where the pattern is a twisted rib (k1 tbl, p1). I'm decreasing on the WS.
No matter what I try, I can't figure out how to make the decreases look like they fit into the rib pattern. Any ideas for a decrease method I can try?
Secondly, where would you put the decreases? The second stitch in? The first stitch? I normally decrease on the second stitch, but that's because I'll be seaming.
I'm working on my first clapotis. I'm almost halfway into the straight section, and it's going fine (other than one mistake where I somehow managed to drop 2 columns of stitches instead of just one; it's on the edge, so it's a short section of drops, so I'm leaving it).
Anyway, when I work patterns, I don't just blindly follow the instructions; I try to understand the purpose of the stitch patterns. Partly because it helps me to memorize a pattern better as I'm working it, and partly so I can use that knowledge to adjust things in patterns I'm working on, or (in the future, when I'm better) even to design my own patterns.
Soooo, I'm curious about this part of the pattern:
P1, k tbl, [k1, k tbl, k3, k tbl] to last marker, k1, k tbl, k3, ssk, pm, yo, kfb.
I know the ssk is a decrease, and the yo is an increase. So why work a decrease immediately followed by an increase? Can someone enlighten me? I'm thinking maybe the ssk does something to hold the "boundaries" of the dropped stitch portion together later, but I can't quite see in my head how that would be, or if that's even the case.
ETA: The pattern snippet is row 6 of the straight rows section. Here's the pattern.
Perhaps this is a silly question, but is an ssk stitch done the same way, essentially, as knitting two together through the back loops? Or am I doing something wrong when I ssk? (Or perhaps when I k2togtbl?)
On a s1, k2tog, psso, do you slip the first stich purlwise or knitwise? I usually slip it purlwise, but the pattern I'm working on now (Swallowtail Shawl, Interweave Fall '06) specifies to slip the stitch knitwise, and I was just wondering if that was the norm or an exception.
ETA: These socks are to be a gift for someone else so I can't get accurate leg measurements...(it's a surprise) so I'll have to guess the best I can...
So, I started a pair of socks last week using a pattern from Cat Bordhi's "Socks Soar on 2 circular needles." I didn't do a gauge swatch, but in her pattern using fingering weight yarn and size 1-3 needles, she cast on 54 stitches. So I cast on the 54 stitches using size 1 needles and fingering weight yarn. I finished the ribbed cuff and started the leg, but it looked a little small, so I tried it on and couldn't get it on over my heel at all.
So I ripped it out and swatched on size 2s and size 1s. I didn't like the looser fabric I got on the size 2s, so I decided to stick with the size 1s where I got about 9 sts per inch. I then switched to KathrynTs universal sock pattern and decided to go for the largest size (an 80 stitch cast on). The ribbing at this size was perfect, but after I got a couple inches into the leg, I noticed that it was looking pretty wide...I had decided to just do a plain stockinette leg instead of ribbing, so I figured that's why it looked so big (since the ribbing would normally pull the fabric in). I tried it on and it fit around my leg pretty comfortably, so I figured I'd keep going. Once I got about 6 inches of the leg done, I started the heel flap and that's when I realized this wasn't going to work...the heel flap was huuuuugely wide and the sock was going to bag at the ankles. I had to rip the whole stupid thing out. I want to make sure I do it right this time.
Does anyone have any information on how to do a flared rib? I've looked it up on Google with no luck... but I really, really want to incorporate it into the pattern I'm beginning. I think it's a matter of sneaking increases into the rib, but I'm not sure about the spacing or the number of increases to do. I would really appreciate any help. Thanks!
ETA: Oh my goodness, Swish Superwash is wonderful so far! It is so soft, and springy, and both colors I've ordered (Red Pepper and Fired Brick) are just beautiful! My only complaint is that there is only one shade of pink, and I'm not sure it's one I'd like (I didn't order any of it). Btw, Red Pepper is really a classic *bright* red, and Fired Brick is a deep, bright jewel-toned red. Both are much prettier than they appear on my monitor for the Knitpicks site. Don't worry, I'm not using them together. :-)
Kay, i have a hat with 70 stitches, worsted. 4 stitches and 5 rows per inch. I want to decrease it into a beanie shape, can someone help me figure out the decreases?
Yarn Goddesses - Okay, I'm trying something new - a bottom-up tank that I'm freehanding. I'm using elann.com's Endless Summer Collection Connemara (100% mercerized and gassed cotton) that I ordered a couple of months ago (deep red ... mmmm yummy), on a size 6 needle, so the stitches are pretty small (22 per inch or so). I'm knitting in the round, and trying to decrease a bit for the waistline, and I'm using a k2t when I come to my "beginning" stitch marker (right side), and a SSK for my "midway" stitch marker (left side). But now, I need to increase and my mind is just blank. I went to knittinghelp.com, and they gave me too many choices for the increase - I'm used to doing a bar increase on flat pieces, but I'm not sure what increase I should to do in the round so that it doesn't show. Suggestions, please? I looked through memories, but what I found was increases on flat pieces.
BTW, in my mind, I'm envisioning a tank with a one-inch crocheted detailing on the bottom. Not sure what I'll do when it comes to the neckline - I'll know by the time I'll get there. Maybe square neck with more crochet detail, or maybe a little something more daring :0 Wish me luck
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