SSK obsessed
If someone told me four years ago that I’d be a crazy knitter girl, I would have thought they were insane. That and the whole living in Texas thing. But here I am, tolerating the extreme humidity and fretting about my left-leaning decreases. I decided to do a Nona-esque swatch in the cotton so that I can get a good night’s sleep tonight.
Whoomp there it is, in all of its unblocked, un-neatened glory. From left to right:
1. Nona’s decrease - you swap the two stitches (I did my swap without a cable needle), then k2tog.
2. SSP - this one’s worked on the wrong side. Slip as if to knit twice, put stitches on left needle, then p2tog tbl.
3. Dave’s decrease - do a SSK improved on the right side, then ptbl the stitch on the next wrong-side row.
4. sl1-k-psso
5. SSK improved - a SSK, but slip the second stitch as if to purl.
Yesterday’s sleeve cap decreases were worked using the SSK improved method. I tried Nona’s stitch-swapping and sl1-k-psso, and they both looked equally icky when worked one stitch from the edge. I was already in a decrease-every-other-row part of the pattern, so I decided to try Dave’s neatening. And it worked perfectly! There is a twisted stitch every other row, but it is barely noticeable and is much less messy than my wonky SSK-improved stitches.
As Nona noted in her post, the SSP is the analogous decrease to a k2tog. I’ll definitely use the SSP in the body shaping of the sweater, my SSP’s look as good as the k2togs once blocked. You do need to remember to work the decreases on the wrong side - I speak from experience when I say that it’s easy to forget and just mindlessly work the purl rows.
Thanks a million to everyone for their suggestions, it’s so greatly appreciated! One last note about all of this - my decreases looked a million times better when worked in forgiving wool. It’s just this damn cotton that’s making me lose sleep!
RSS
Wow, that is one scientificly minded swatch. I never did think that all those left-leaning decreases could be so different from each other. I just typically use the one called for in the pattern (I’ve been know to be lazy and just k2togtbl instead of SSK). Seeing them all side by side really makes the differences stand out. This is really great, thank you!
Great examination of the left leaning decreases! Thanks!
I’m going to try Dave’s method in the future.
Very interesting, I’ve never been satisfied with my ssk…I tend to favor the sl1 k1 psso method when I remember it!
Wow - It’s great to see the options. I felt so fancy when I discovered SSK improved, I had no idea there were so many more ways to go about it. Go kniting!
How interesting! I guess the cotton really helps highlight the differences. I think you made a good choice on what to use for your sweater.
I really admire your dedication ;-) Will you leave the sleeve you’ve already knit as is?
Seriously, cotton sucks at hiding things.
I’m tempted to try the SSP, but I’d have to put markers around each decrease otherwise I’d spend half my knitting time ripping back.
yeah, cotton sucks ass sometimes.
and that picture is really helpful.
i will keep this in mind the next time i work with cotton for a garment. :o)
Dave’s decrease is darn nice! I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to remember all of the steps, though.
All these options look very interesting indeed - and good, absolutely! Though I agree, cotton sure sucks at times when it comes to hiding uneven stitches, but then again it’s so nice to knit with and so good on the skin - it’s worth it I’d say! I think I’ll have to try Dave’s version too next time!
On one hand I’m all “wow, thanks guys, for making me a better knitter.” On the other, I’m all, “dammit, why are you people shaking up my nice SSK rut?” Sigh. Dave’s method it is, then. :P
Oh cool, thanks for showing your swatch! I always use SSK improved but I will def. try the Dave verion now. Yeay I love tiny details! :)
I’m so glad it worked out for you!
I like the SSK improved the best - good choice!
Love your technical discussion of SSK! Can’t help wondering what all the fuss is about, though. I stopped doing PSSO decreases, because I always stretched the slipped stitch when I passed it over, and got an ugly enlarged stitch. (You do much better than I did!)
What works for me is an ordinary SSK–slip as if to knit, slip as if to knit, insert left needle in front of slipped stitches and knit them together (same as knit together through back loop). I do the slipping and knitting at the tips of the needles, and this keeps the stitches from enlarging. With practice, this becomes totally second nature.