Right Side Decreases a Complete Guide

The more we knit the more we become introduced to new stitches, including new combinations of those stitches.  As a left handed knitter versatility is one of the most beneficial traits in the knitting bag.  Once we have left the world of single stitch knitting, using only knit and purl stitches, and enter the world of decreases so many amazing aspect open up to us and can also quickly become frustrating and confusing.

In the prior blog posts "Which Way Do They Go" the concept of "lean" was introduced and in "What's the Difference between a Knit and a Knit Through the Back Loop" crossed and neutral stitches were covered. By combining these two elements various types of right side decreases evolved which show how both lean and twist/untwisted combine.

Let's start out with a quick review.  There are basically two categories decreases will fall into: 1.) left ( \ ) or right ( / ) leaning and 2.) untwisted, such as how a standard knit stitch falls with the two legs parallel to each other, the way your legs do when you have both feet flat on the floor side by side, or twisted, where the legs at the base of the stitch cross as if you were crossing your ankles.

Decreases do exactly what the name implies.  They decrease, or reduce, the number of stitches in the fabric.  For example a K2tog will decrease the stitch count by one stitch each time it is used, a K3tog will decrease the stitch count by two stitches, a K4tog will decrease the stitch count by three stitches, and so on.  The number indicated in the stitch name tells us the total number of stitches involved in making the decrease happen and the number of stitches that will be decreased in total is one less than the number.

Every decrease has it's spouse that does the the opposite.  As you can see there really is a decrease for every occasion:

  

Copyright William Souza 2014

If you have a piece of standard Western style Stockinette (knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side) the k2tog (knit two together)/SSK (Slip, Slip, Knit), KSP (Knit, Slip, Pass - where the slipped stitch is slipped as if to purl)/SKP (Slip, Knit, Pass - where the slipped stitch is slipped as if to knit) would be great choices for maintaining uniform appearance to the fabric. If you have an Eastern style stockinette (knit in the back loop on the right side and purl in the back loop on the wrong side) then the ssk2tog(tfl) (Slip, Slip, Knit the two slipped stitches together through the front loop) /k2togtbl (knit two stitches together through the back loop) , KSP (where the slipped stitch is slipped as if to knit)/SKP (where the slipped stitch is slipped as if to purl) would provide you with decreases that are twisted thereby allowing them to blend into the fabric.

Even though the blog "Which Way Do They Go!" touched on equivalents and substitutions taking some time and really dive into these subject a bit more in depth would be prudent since this is titled a complete guide.

What are equivalents and Substitutions?

Equivalents are, by definitions, two things that are equal to each other.  In math (back away from clicking the x button on your browser not all math is bad or determined to torture us) we often see equivalents expressed as simply as 1 = 2/2 or more complexly as 2+2 = 4 = 8-4.  In the first example 1 = 2/2 boils down to 1=1.  In the second example 2+2 = 4 = 8 - 4 boils down to 4 = 4 = 4.  Each aspect was equivalent to the other.  As much as we hate to admit it knitting does share many similarities to math.  Fortunately the aspects they share are the simple ones.  There will be no calculus involved I promise.  Some minor algebra at times when you get into designing garments but definitely NO calculus.

In knitting an equivalent is nothing more than two stitches that produce the same result.  For example a k2tog = KSP (providing you do the "slip" part as if to purl).  Both of these decreases result in a left slanting decrease on the right side of the fabric with both legs of the stitch falling parallel to each other for left handed knitters.  There is a purl side decrease that also produces the same result as both of these however I will save that for the Purl Side Decreases a Complete Guide.)

A substitutions is nothing more than what you think.  It is where you swap one thing for another.  We can substitute for two reasons as a left handed knitter.  First because we prefer to make a left slanting decrease one way more than another such as if a pattern calls for a KSP we could choose to substitute a k2tog.  The other reason is because we want to make a pattern that is written for a right handed knitter and we want to have the result come out EXACTLY like the original.  In this instance we would need to substitute to ensure our decreases go the exact same way as the decreases do in the pattern.  If the pattern says to do a k2tog in a specific place we would substitute an SSK.  In this instance we are substituting to get a desired result.  A chart illustrating the various decreases, how they lean and if they are open or twisted can be found on the page Decrease Reference Chart.

Now that you have had your mind filled will all sorts of information to ponder I hope the one thing you get from this is to view your knitting with a keen eye.  Always look and see what each stitch looks like, notice the character they have and the visual dimension each and every one expresses.  Knitting is so much more than going through the motions.  It is all about expression and joy.  The more you look the more you will see it!

Copyright William Souza 2014 

Which way do they go!

As a knitter move along from using the knit and purl stitches they enter the world of decreases (and increases but that will be for another article) and the distinctive element of them called "lean" or slant.

Lean is nothing more than what direction a stitch slants.  Knit and purl stitches are neutral, meaning they do not slant.  When we look at a section of  fabric made purely of knit and purls everything is in nice neat parallel columns of stitches.  

Notice how, in the image to the left, each knit stitch builds from the one below and is essentially stacking into a straight line?  This is basically our "neutral".  It doesn't matter whether it is stockinette (as shown), garter, seed stitch, basket weave, etc., Since they are crafted from our foundation of knit and purl stitches only each column remains neutral.

Now I am sure you are asking yourself why are we talking about neutral when this article is about decreases?  To appreciate and truly read your knitting we have to be able to know what neutral looks like in order to see what the lean of a decrease looks like.  Some are very blatant while at other times they are quite subtle and will blend in quite nicely.

When it comes to decreases we have many types.  The most common decreases encountered are the basics which take two stitches and combine them into one as when using Knit Two Together (K2Tog), Purl Two Together (P2Tog), Slip-Slip-Knit (SSK), Slip-Knit-Pass (SKP), Knit-Slip-Pass (KSP), Knit Two Together Through the Back Loop (K2Togtbl), Purl Two Together Through the Back Loop (P2Togtbl), Slip-Slip-Purl Two Together Through the Back Loop).  Keep in the back of your mind you can also encounter Knit Three Together (K3Tog), Knit Four Together (K4Tog) etc.  Essentially when you see K#Together, with # being the actual number of stitches you will be combing you are performing a decrease.  With any of these decreases the number can be increased and that is what you will use.  Enough about the technical side and let's get to the good stuff... lean!

Lean has only two options, left or right.  As a left handed knitter it is important to keep in mind that knitting patterns, unless otherwise states, are written from a right handed knitters perspective to lean.  This means when a stitch leans to the right for them it will lean to the left for us.  Many left handed knitters, myself included, mirror knit.  We are perfectly happy with our knitting being a mirror image of what a right handed knitter would make.  Sometimes that works well.  Other times not so much.  There are times when decreases are used with the purpose of blending in the decreases or making them stand out as a design element.  Because of this it is important to not only know which direction your decreases lean but also what decreases need to be swapped out when you do wish to create a fabric as pictured.

Let's start with the two most basic decreases the K2Tog and the SSK.


In the image below is a piece of fabric knitted right handed.  On the left side of the fabric is an SSK.  For a right handed knitter an SSK is a left leaning decrease ( \ ).  On the right side of the fabric is a K2Tog.  The K2Tog for a right handed knitter is a right leaning increase ( / ). Notice how, because of their placement on their respective sides, they appear to flare outward while the fabric is decreasing inward.  This effect is also known as full fashioned.

            In the image below is a piece of fabric knitted left handed (boy was I glad to go back to knitting leftie!  It is just so much more comfortable for me.)  The fabric is set up exactly the same.  On the left hand side of the fabric is an SSK.  The SSK for a left handed knitter is a right leaning increase ( / ).  On the right side of the fabric is a K2Tog.  The K2Tog for a left handed knitter is a left leaning increase ( \ ).  Notice how even with the exact same placement as the right handed version we get a much more symmetrical result known as, you guessed it, blended.

To set them up comparatively we end up with: 

Set side by side the mirroring effect is clear.

Taking the comparison chart one step farther we can easily determine which decrease we need to swap for the other.  If the pattern calls for a K2Tog  right handed ( \ ) we can substitute an SSK left handed ( \ ) to create the desired left leaning result.  The more frequently substitutions are done the more habitual it becomes.  I started out with a notebook with everything written in it and referred to it constantly.  Now I see a K2Tog and simply work an SSK and vice versa when I do not wish to have a mirroring effect.  As you work various decreases write them down in your notebook and designate them as left or right leaning.   From this you will build yourself a reference you can utilize and find the right decrease to substitute when you need to!  The basic rule you can count  on is if a stitch leans to the left for a leftie it will lean to the right for a rightie and if a stitch leans to the right for a leftie it will lean to the left for a rightie.  Just by working a decrease for yourself and identifying the lean you will know how it leans when worked by a right handed knitter.  This then tells you which decrease you will need to substitute for the other.

For those who learned with a strong English Knitting background the Slip-Knit-Pass (SKP) and the Knit-Slip-Pass (KSP) are the decreases encountered more commonly than the K2Tog and the SSK.  These decreases are equivalents regarding their lean. The K2TOG leans the same as the KSP and the SSK leans the same as the SKP (see below).  Now that we know what is equivalent to what we can then look to see if a pattern has SKP and KSP in it we can then see we simply swap the two for their placement, just like we did with the K2Tog and the SSK, to end up with the desired lean or we can substitute a different decrease with the appropriate lean.

This may all sound a bit confusing and that is perfectly alright.  Equivalents and substitutions are things that come in time and through experience.  As I always say use your scrap yarn to play and practice.  Make a swatch and make a K2Tog and then a few stitches later make a KSP.  Take a look at them and see what direction they both lean.  Then do the same with the SSK and the SKP.  The little bit of time that it takes to make a swatch and compare the stitches will be worth the education you will gain from doing so!

Lastly, a few words on purl side decreases.  These are exactly as they sound; decreases made on the purl side of the fabric however the resulting lean is visible on the KNIT side of the fabric.  The three a knitter is most likely to encountered are the Purl Two Together (P2Tog) , the Slip-Slip-Purl (SSP) and the Purl Two Together Through the Back Loop (P2Togtbl)  The P2Tog is a quite common general use decrease. The SSP and the P2Togtbl not as common and are most likely to come up in lace patterns.  Purl side decreases, aside from P2Tog, are not used anywhere near as often as knit side decreases, so I am not going to go into too much detail.  I will leave the detail for a future blog.  Just keep in mind that they do exist AND produce lean on the right side of the fabric.

When it comes to decreases the best advice I can give you is to take some time and experiment.  Pick a decrease, make a stockinette swatch and make the decreases.  Look at the right side of your work and observe how the decrease leans, flip your work over and see the wrong side looks like and make a note of both.  The more frequently you examine your work, how the stitches are formed and how the completed stitch looks the more you will understand what you have created and how to use them in various ways.