So you’re ready to try something beyond a scarf or a blanket. Maybe something like a hat, that requires a little bit of shaping. There are a number of decrease stitches that allow you to shape the top of a hat, but the most common one you’ll see, and the simplest, is k2tog, or knit two together.
Knit two together is done exactly how you would expect from the name: you knit two stitches together as though they were one stitch. Here’s how:
Slide the tip of your right needle up through the first two stitches on your left needle.
Knit those two stitches as though they were one stitch.
You now have one stitch on your right needle instead of the two that you had on your left.
This gives you a right-slanting decrease, meaning the left stitch is in front of the right stitch and it’s angled to the right. (The direction of the slant doesn’t matter so much in hat-making, but it’s useful to know for things like socks, mittens, and sweaters.)
If you’d like to walk through it with me, here’s the video:
Watch for upcoming posts featuring other decrease stitches, including p2tog (purl two together) and ssk (slip slip knit).
And if you’re looking for a simple, super versatile hat pattern, sign up below for a free copy of my most versatile hat pattern!
