While out at dinner with a fellow knitter, we talked about knitting patterns and how modern patterns differ from older, vintage ones. For one, the depth of instructions for old patterns vary so much! I've come across patterns for v-neck sweaters and cardigans that give instructions to 'reverse shaping on the left side as for the right'. For any skilled knitter, there's an understanding of what this means; but any knitting newbie could understandably be thrown off course by this.
Then there's the techniques which are used. For example, I'd not encountered 'three-needle cast off' until I knitted my first vintage pattern nearly seven years ago. Nothing I'd knitted before had called for this technique; but a quick call to my mum (who knew how to do this) meant I was able to complete my top. Since following vintage patterns I've learnt so many techniques - knitting a top in the flat and the yoke in the round, knitting in the round, knitting the back and front as one long piece, knitting the bottom up then panels sideways; the list is endless!
When these patterns were printed in the first part of the 20th Century, a greater percentage of the population knitted regularly; so these techniques would have been familiar to most knitters, hence the shortened pattern instructions. One technique question that has baffled knitters over the decades and is still the cause of much confusion is how to do the left leaning decrease.
The right leaning decrease is easy - K2tog (knit two stitches together). This means the work slants to the right and is used really successfully for armhole shaping, sleeve shaping and v-neck openings; but the left leaning decrease.....oh my!
The left leaning decrease means the work will slant to the left and there are a number of options. The most familiar is probably sl1,K1,psso or SKP (slip one stitch, knit one stitch, pass slipped stitch over). This is the technique used by most knitters, unless the pattern instructions show another. There's also K2tog(tbl) (knit two stitches together through the back loop) which looks like a good match, to the right leaning decrease, but isn't the neatest of finishes, as this method twists the stitches.
There's also the SSK (slip two stitches, one at a time to the right needle, then knit through the front of these stitches). All of these - the SKP, K2tog(tbl) and SSK can be completed on a knit row or a purl row. The purl version of SSK is SSP, which works two stitches knitwise to the left hand needle and worked together by purling through the back loops.
The neatest of all of the left leaning decreases is an improvement of the SSK. The improved SSK (slip one stitch knitwise, slip one stitch purlwise, knit both stitches through the back loop) is a mix of the SSK and K2tog(tbl).
Here's what these look like
You can see in the photo above how each of these look in comparison to the K2tog on the right side.
Until the Holy Grail of the left leaning decrease is discovered, we have these options available. Which do you prefer??
Check out my instagram reels for videos of these decreases. You can find me at @Atomiqueuk
Until next time, happy knitting and happy decreasing!
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