Tutorials in this collection will show you different ways to increase and decrease stitches, from an improved version of the well-known SSK to exquisite “tulip” decreases.
If you want to add stitches to your project without forming any holes – even the tiniest ones – use twisted lifted increases. This method forms increases that slant to the right and ones that slant to the left, and, of course, we can combine these increases to form neat raglan lines or vertical darts, […]
Have you ever wondered how we can decrease stitches in 2×2 and other types of ribbing without disrupting the structure of the fabric? I faced this question a some time ago as I was shaping the sleeves of a top-down sweater worked entirely in “knit 2, purl 2” rib. The method suggested in the pattern
As soon as I shared with you a method that forms a beautifully textured right-leaning increase, I received a number of requests for a matching left-leaning one. You are absolutely right to look for a left-leaning diagonal increase. This pair of increases is perfect for forming raglan lines of top-down sweaters and cardigans, and for
This increase is a variation of pulled increases, but with more texture and a more decorative look. It is a great way to add stitches to shawls, structured scarves, top-down hats and sweaters with yoke. Details like diagonal increases give our projects a feel of high-end designer items without too much effort on our part.
When we shape a project worked in 1×1 ribbing, we want the decreases to look the same on both sides of the fabric. It is especially important for reversible hats, cowls, cardigans and other projects that don’t hide their wrong side. I encountered this issue as I was designing a warm highly textured hat made
When I published a tutorial about right-slanting pulled increases, I received several requests for a tutorial about a method that forms a mirror version of these increases – same look but with a slant to the left. If this method exists, I wasn’t able to find it, so I tested several approaches and one of
“Make one” is arguably the most popular increase in knitting. And there is a good reason for that – this way to increase stitches is simple and easy-to-remember. It doesn’t create a hole and works well in most situations. Usually, there increases are made on the knit side of the work, but sometimes we need
“Inc 1 st each side, working inc sts into pat”, “inc and work into pat”, “cont in patt, inc 1 st each side”, “work the inc sts into pat”. If you’ve ever knit a sweater with fitted sleeves or a top-down sweater with raglan lines, you’ve probably seen one of those scary-looking abbreviations. All of
We often see these decreases at the armholes of designer sweaters and cardigans, but they look equally well on hand-knitted projects, especially along the raglan lines. It seems that the fabric was slightly pinched in spots where we use cable decreases to shape our knits. This effect adds a subtle detail that shows that this
We do not use this decrease very often, but when we do, it is usually uncomfortable. The “purl” part of the “slip slip purl” decrease means that we should purl two stitches together through the back loop. So we twist our wrists to insert the right needle from left to right under the back legs
