Elizabeth Zimmermann’s astounding Baby Surprise Jacket (and its larger Toddler and Adult versions) rely on double decreases to do the first part of the shaping. Her recommendation is to put a coil-less pin through the two stitches that result after each of the two double decreases in the first decrease row.
Category Archives: Work in Progress
Bind Off in Pattern
When we bind off a project, we should almost always bind off “in pattern.” That means that as we work our way across the bind-off row, we work each stitch as though we are working the current pattern row.
Stopping in the Middle of a Row
I’m not sure who first proclaimed that knitters should never put down their work in the middle of the row.
What planet did that person live on? Most knitters I know have to stop once in a while to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, answer the phone, bathe kids, feed the cat, do laundry, cook, clean, shop, snuggle with their significant others, and otherwise stop knitting (OK, so some interruptions can be pleasurable). Oh, I forgot work, didn’t I?
Am I Working the Right Side or Wrong Side of My Reversible Fabric?
Ribbing, garter stitch, and seed stitch (and a whole host of other knitted fabrics) are reversible: they look the same on both sides.
But suppose you have to do something (shaping, for example) only when working right-side rows. What do you do if you lose track of whether you’re working a right-side or wrong-side row? How can you tell where you are?
An Accidental Yarnover
If you come to a yarnover that shouldn’t be there, just drop it off the needle.
Really.
It’s hard to believe, but the excess yarn will, as you work the next several rows, mysteriously move itself into the surrounding stitches all on its own.
Retrieve Ripped Stitches with a Smaller Needle
If you have to rip, whether one row or (shivers) a hundred rows, try picking up the live stitches on a smaller needle than the one you’re using for the project.
If you’re working with a size 5 needle, then theoretically, you should be able to pick up the live stitches with that same size 5 needle after you’ve ripped. Theoretically.