For my final post on decrease stitches, I have a couple of left-slanting decreases as alternatives to ssk. The first one, which you may see in patterns instead of ssk, is sl1, k1, psso, or slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over.
This stitch is exactly what it sounds like:
Slip the first stitch on your left needle knit-wise onto your right needle. (Do not knit it.)
Knit the next stitch.
Now, pass that slipped stitch over the knitted stitch the same way you would if you were binding off.
Simple enough, right? Here’s the video so you can see it in action. (I tried to take photos, but they didn’t really show what I was doing, so I’m sticking with the video on this one.)
The second decrease is knit two together through the back loop, or k2tog tbl. Here’s how you do it:
Slide the right needle through the first two stitches on the left needle from right to left as though you were going to p2tog, but instead of the right needle coming out of those stitches in front, it comes out in back.
Wrap your working yarn around the tip of the right needle as you normally would to knit.
Now, catch that yarn with your right needle and pull it back through those two stitches (again, as you normally would to knit, you’re just coming at it from a slightly different angle).
There is a slight twist to the stitch, which may not be ideal for all projects, but it’s a pretty simple stitch.
Here’s the video:
I think my favorite left-slanting decrease is still ssk, but give these two a try. Which do you prefer?
Happy knitting!
