Understanding pattern instructions FRONT and BACK of the knitted fabric

There are lots of areas within a pattern where confusion can arise when describing how to do something. When knitting a garment you will often have a Front and a Back but the words FRONT and BACK are also used when explaining how to work a particular stitch or technique e.g.

   'With the yarn at the front' or 'take the yarn to the back'

When describing how to move the yarn or to place the needle point, the FRONT is the side of the fabric nearest you regardless of whether it is the Right or Wrong Side facing you at the time, and therefore the BACK is the side away from you. 

For example the instructions for working one method of making a chain selvedge is;

'Knit 1 through the back loop, work to the last stitch, slip the last stitch purl wise with the yarn at front'

The instruction at the beginning of the sentence - knit 1 through the back loop - is fairly easy to understand. You put the point of the right needle through the centre of the stitch from right to left so it passes in front of the back half of the first stitch.

'Slip the last stitch purl wise with the yarn at front' - means you have to think about the position of the working yarn before you slip the last stitch purl wise. If you have been working a row of knit stitches the yarn is at the BACK of the fabric i.e. the side of the knitting away from you so you need to bring it forward between the needles before slipping the last stitch.

If you have been working a row of purl stitches the yarn is already at the FRONT so you just need to slip the last stitch.

Knit 1 Purl 1 Rib Neckband for a V-neckline

I have just uploaded a new demo to my YouTube channel showing you how to knit a mitred v-neckband in knit 1 purl 1 rib using a centre double decrease. In my last post I wrote about picking up stitches for a round neckband so I have not demonstrated the picking up in this video but if you what my 'Finishing a Round Neckline' video you will see how I prefer to pick up stitches.

When I am knitting a V-neckline, if possible I will slip the centre stitch at the bottom of the neckline onto a stitch holder and then I work by decreases 2 stitches in from the edge with paired decreases. When knitting the left hand side of the neckline (where the decrease is at the end of the row) I work to the last 4sts, knit 2 together and knit 2. When knitting the right hand side of the neckline (where the decrease is at the beginning of the row) I knit 2 and then work a left leaning decrease which could be ssk or sl 1, k1, psso, and then work the rest of the row. On wrong side rows I purl 3 over the 2 edge stitches and the decrease to give a column of stocking stitch either side of the neckline even if the rest of the garment is in a stitch pattern.

I also often work the first 2 decreases only, 2 rows apart and then complete the remaining decreases according to the intervals given in the pattern e.g. decrease every 4th or 6th row. The reason for working the first 2 decreases close together is that this will give you a slightly wider shape at the v-point of the neckline. You can find sometimes that the neckband doesn't fit into the space at the v-point very well.

There are a number of ways to finish a v-neckline but one of the most common neckbands is a knit 1, purl 1 ribbed band. This type of band required decreases to be worked at the v-point. When I work this type of neckband I prefer to use a centre double decrease to give a neat mitred finish at the v-point.

In my post on picking up stitches around a round neckline I talked a bit about the rate of pick up i.e. how many stitches to how many rows to get a good finish. Picking up along a v-neckline you are picking up along a diagonal line which is longer than the same number of rows vertically. If I pick up 3 stitches for 4 rows which I would normally do for a straight vertical edge the neckband may look okay but the v-point will probably be pulled up. As the diagonal line is longer it is necessary to pick up more stitches so I usually work on a ratio of 5 stitches to 6 rows. You can pick up 1 stitch for every row but you may find this is too many stitches.

Picking up stitches on a v-neckline I would start at the top of the left front neckline/shoulder and with the Right Side facing me pick up 5 stitches for every 6 rows down the neck edge. When possible I put my centre stitch onto a stitch holder at the start of the neck shaping so I would knit this stitch but keep the stitch marker in the stitch as I need to know where this stitch is when working the neckband. I also take a note of the number of stitches I picked up down this edge. After knitting the centre stitch I pick up the same number of stitches (at the same ratio) up the right hand side of the neckline.

Once you have picked up all the stitches you have a choice. You can knit 1 row to give a garter stitch edge to your neckband which will sit back over your pick up row, or you can go straight into the knit 1, purl 1 rib. If you are going to work in rib it is important to get the rib correctly centred. The marked stitch at the v-point of the neckline must be a knit stitch on the Right Side of the fabric. With the Wrong Side facing you (which will be the first row), find the marked stitch which will be a purl on the Wrong Side. Having found the stitch you can now work back to the beginning of the row counting p1, k1, to work out what stitch you need to start knitting the band correctly.

Work one row of rib over all the stitches (making sure the marked stitch is purled on this Wrong Side row). I work the mitred decrease on Right Side rows only. The next row is a Right Side row. Work in rib to 1 stitch before the marked stitch as shown in the image below.

The centre double decrease is a knit decrease (even if the next stitch is a purl stitch) and is worked over the next 3 stitches as follows, 

Slip the next 2 stitches together to the right needle (as if you were going to work k2tog)

Knit the next stitch.

Using the point of the left needle pass the 2 slipped stitches over together. NB they must be passed over the knit stitch together NOT one at a time.

By passing the 2 stitches over together you keep the centre stitch at the front of the decrease giving a vertical line of knit stitches with the decreased stitch either side disappearing behind this stitch.

After working the decrease continue in the rib pattern already set. On Wrong Side rows you MUST purl the marked stitch. On some Wrong Side rows you will have 3 purl stitches together but on alternate Wrong Side rows you will have knit 1, purl 1, knit 1.

An average neckband is about 8 rows. I usually cast off in rib on a Right Side row so that when I get to 1 stitch before the marked stitch, I work the centre double decrease and then cast off the previous stitch and continue with the rest of the cast off. This helps to keep the v-point neat and tight.

I hope that helps any of you who find it difficult to achieve a neat finish on your v-necklines.

Picking up stitches for the Neckband on a Round Neckline

In my last post I explained how I knitted a round neckline to make it as easy as possible to pick up the stitches for the neckband and achieve a neat clean finish. In this post I will show you how I pick up stitches around this neckline for the neckband.

This was the picture of the finished sample neckline from my previous blog. The stitches at the start of the neckline shaping are on a stitch holder and the decreases for the shaped section are worked 2 stitches in from the neck edge on each side. The neckline is finished with a section of straight knitting. It is important to be able to identify these different sections as you need to pick up stitches at different rates in the different sections.

The stitches on a stitch holder need to be slipped back onto a needle. It can be helpful to place a locking stitch marker in the edge opposite the top most decrease to remind you where the shaped section is. When picking up stitches in the straight section at the top I would pick up 3 stitches for every 4 rows. However in the shaped section the diagonal line created by the shaping means you need to pick up more stitches in this section and I usually pick up 1 stitch for every row here.

Start the pick up by holding the neckline in your left hand, starting at the top of the left hand edge of the neckline. When I pick up stitches I work between the edge stitch and the next stitch in, where I am pointing with my needle in the image above.

It is usual to knit the neckband on a smaller needle than is used for the main body of the knitting and this also makes it easier to pick up stitches using a smaller size needle. Holding a knitting needle in my right hand and the neckline in my left hand I push the point of the needle through the knitted fabric between the edge stitch and next stitch in.

I take the knitting yarn around the point of the needle (in this case I am using a contrast yellow yarn) and pull a new loop through to the front of the fabric. I repeat this process in the next 2 rows to pick up 2 more stitches.

Once I have picked up 3 stitches, I miss one row from the neckline (3 stitches to 4 rows) and then pick up another stitch in each of the next 3 rows. The image above shows the first 3stitches and then 2 strands pushed together, the 4th row, before the next stitch is picked up.

Once I have got to the start of the shaped section I pick up 1 stitch for every row. The image above shows the stitches picked up down one side of the neckline. It is important to make a note of how many stitches you picked up down the straight section and then how may stitches you picked up down the shaped section so that when you come to picking up the stitches on the opposite side you have the same number of stitches in each section.

One of the main problems a lot of knitters experience when picking up stitches for a neckband is that a hole appears between the stitches which have been shaped and the stitches on a stitch holder. To avoid this hole appearing I pick up the strand between the stitches forming the neckline and the stitches on a stitch holder as indicated in the image below.

Having picked up this strand onto the left needle point I knit into the back of the loop to make a new stitch and twist it shut to close any hole that might have formed. I have made a stitch, but this extra stitch can be decreased away in the next row if you feel you don't want it.

Having made a stitch to fill the hole I then continue working across the stitches that were on a stitch holder. Some patterns will tell you to cast off the stitches at the bottom of the neckline shaping but with a round neckline, which is often quite close fitting, I prefer to slip the stitches onto a stitch holder to keep the neckline as flexible as possible.

Once I have knitted all the stitches from the stitch holder I pick up the strand between the stitch holder stitches and the shaped neckline and make a new stitch, and then continue to pick up stitches along the shaped section and then the straight section at the same rates as I did on the first side of the neckline.

Once all the stitches have been picked up you should have a smooth, balanced neckline join. It is important when picking up stitches on the second side of the neckline to make sure you are working along the same channel of knitting as you did on the first side. 

You can go straight into the neckband stitch pattern e.g. a knit 2 purl 2 rib after picking up the stitches or you can knit one row before starting the neckband pattern. Working a knit row gives a garter ridge detail that 'sits down' over the picked up row and can hide any minor irregularities and also can allow you to adjust the number of stitches at this point if you feel it is necessary. If you go straight into a rib pattern you need to work out what stitch you need to start with at the beginning of a Wrong Side row in order to have the rib pattern centred over the centre front of the neckband.

I have also made a demo film of how to pick up stitches for a round neckline finish which you can see on the Fiona Morris Designs YouTube channel

In this explanation I have shown you how to judge picking up stitches according to what you have knitted. Some knitters do not feel confident about picking up a different number of stitches to those given in a pattern. If that is the case I would suggest you divide your neckline into equal sections and place locking stitch markers or split pin markers through your knitting to mark of each section. Now divide the number of stitches you have to pick up by the number of sections you have marked. Working 1 stitch in from the edge as previously explained, pick up the number of stitches you have worked out in each section to get an even spread of stitches that are the same number as quoted in the pattern.

I hope this explanation and demo help with achieving perfect neckline finishes in the future.

Knitting a Round Neckline

I've just come back from teaching a weekend course on Finishing Techniques at Farncombe Estate near Broadway and it came to my notice yet again the lack of information provided in commercial patterns when it comes to shaping the neckline. Most commercial patterns will say something like;

'Decrease 1 stitch at the neck edge on the next and every alternate row 8 times'

but they don't generally give any instructions about what method of decrease to use or where to place the decrease i.e. on the edge or a stitch or two in from the edge. They also often tell the knitted to cast off a block of stitches at the bottom of the Front neck shaping rather than putting the stitches on a stitch holder.

The picture above is an example of how many knitters will shape a round neckline when they are given a minimal amount of information in the pattern. The stitches at the centre bottom of the Front neck have been cast off and the decreases have been worked as 'knit 2 together (k2tog)'  on the neck edge on both sides of the neckline. As a result the neckline has very little flexibility and the decreases on the edge of the neckline make it very difficult to pick up stitches neatly for the neckband.

In this second sample the bottom of the neckline has been cast off again but the decreases have been worked 2 stitches in from the edge. This does make the edge much easier to pick up stitches through, but in this sample the same method of decrease has been used on both sides of the neckline shaping i.e. k2tog. Looking at the sample the right hand neckline edge has a 'fully fashioned' finish. The k2tog decrease leans towards the right which is in the same direction as the edge is being decreased. As a result it gives a clear column of stitches leaning to the right - following the shape of the neckline.

The left hand side of the neckline (as you look at it) has been shaped using the same right leaning decrease i.e. k2tog. The decrease is worked 2 stitches in from the edge so the neckline edge is still smooth for picking up stitches for the neckband, but the knitted fabric does not have the same smooth line of stitches following the direction of the neckline shaping. It does not mirror the other side of the neckline. In order to mirror the neckline shaping you need to use a left leaning decrease such as 'slip 1 knit 1 pass slipped stitch over (skpo)'.

This 3rd picture shows how I would work a round neckline. I prefer to put the centre section of stitches onto a stitch holder rather than casting them off as this helps to retain the flexibility in the neckline. If the round neckline is quite open and deep like a scoop neckline it is not so important to keep the stitches from the bottom of the neckline and the back neckline on stitch holders, but if the garment has quite a close fitting neckline, the knitting needs to be able to stretch to fit over the wearer's head.

For the shaped section of the neckline (the decreases,) I have used a k2tog decrease on the right hand side (as the sample faces you) and a skpo on the left hand side. Both decreases are worked 2 stitches in from the edge. As a result the edge of the neckline is smooth making it very much easier to pick up stitches through the edge for the neckband and I personally like the 'fully fashioned' finish that is achieved by working 2 stitches in from the edge of the knitting.

The images below show a close-up of the round neckline on 2 different garments. Both garments are knitted in stocking stitch, one with a k2, p2 rib and the other with a k1, p1 rib, but both with close fitting necklines. Due to the way the neckline has been shaped it was much easier to pick up and knit a very neatly finished neckband.

These two examples show the neckline shaping on a stocking stitch garment. I would still use this method of shaping i.e. the decreases worked at least 1 or 2 stitches in from the edge, even when knitting different stitch patterns as it makes the neckline much easier to finish neatly and I like the detail it adds.

This last picture is a v-neckline but it shows how the fully fashioned decreases have been worked within a stitch pattern. There is a 2 stitch wide column of stitches either side of the neckline just inside the garter stitch neckband.

To work fully fashioned decreases to shape the Left Front neckline (the right had side when looking at the pictures) work to the last 4sts, k2tog, k2.

To work fully fashioned decreases to shape the Right Front neckline (the left hand side looking at the picture) k2, skpo, work to the end of the row.

I would also work fully fashioned shaping at the armhole edges, the sleeve cap of a set-in sleeve garment and the raglan seams on that style of garment.

I hope this 'article' gives some of you the confidence to realise you do not have to follow a pattern word for work. The pattern will tell you how many times you need to work the decreases but you can decide where exactly you are going to work those decreases i.e. 1 or 2 stitches in from the edge of the knitting and what method of decrease you want to use.

Decreasing on then purl side of the fabric to match the knit side

I recently wrote about different methods of decreasing on the knit side of stocking stitch fabric and explained why you may want to use different methods of decreasing particularly when shaping areas of knitting e.g. armholes and necklines.

When I write patterns for hand knitting I usually try to make sure that the decreases are worked on the knit side (right side) of the fabric i.e. even numbers of rows between decreases. However sometimes it is necessary to work shaping decreases every row for several rows which means having to decrease on the purl side as well as the knit side of the fabric. When you look at the purl side of a piece of stocking stitch which includes decreases, the decreases are not very visible but on the knit side the direction of the decrease is very visible. As a result it is necessary to work the decreases on the purl side of the fabric that will lean in the same direction as the knit decrease below or above it.

There are generally not as many variations of purl decreases in common use as there are knit decreases and in this post I am looking at the 3 most common methods of working single decreases on the purl side of the fabric.

Purl 2 together (p2tog) - right leaning decrease on the knit side

This is probably the easiest purl decrease to work as you purl 2 stitches together. When viewed from the knit side of the fabric this decrease gives a right sloping decrease so it matches the knit 2 together (k2tog).

Purl 2 together through the back loop (p2togtbl) - left leaning decrease on the knit side

This decrease is a bit more fiddly to complete. I find when I am working p2togtbl the first thing I do is to loosen the two stitches that are to be worked together by putting my right needle through the 2 stitches as if to work a p2tog.

Once I take the right needle out of these 2 stitches again I try to 'pinch' the knitting to keep the loops as open as possible so that I can then get into the same 2 stitches but this time trough the back loops.

Once the right needles in place through the back loops the 2 stitches can be purled together.

This decrease will give a left leaning slant on the knit side of the fabric so is often used to match the slip 1, knit 1, pass slipped stitch over (skpo) decrease. The stitches are knitted through the back loop which results in them being twisted at the base of the stitch.

Slip slip purl (ssp) - left leaning decrease on the knit side

This purl decrease is used much more frequently in America as it is the purl decrease to match the ssk decrease on the knit side.

Slip the next stitch knitwise to the right needle.

Slip the 2nd stitch knitwise to the right needle.

Slip both slipped stitches back to the left needle.

Purl the 2 together through the back loop.

Although this decrease is very similar to the p2togtbl and needs a couple of extra steps it does give a better finish on the knit side of the fabric as the stitches are not twisted.

The finished sample above shows how the 3 methods of decreasing look on the knit side of the fabric. Working from right to left across the sample, it starts with the ssp (left leaning) decrease, in the middle is the p2togtbl (left leaning) decrease and finishes with the p2tog (right leaning) decrease. As you can see the ssp decrease gives a much smoother line than the p2togtbl decrease.

Decreases on the knit side of the fabric; which one to use

Right Leaning Decreases

In my experience the decrease that most people learn first is the Knit 2 together (k2tog) decrease. It is a fairly easy decrease to work but a lot of knitters are not really aware of how it makes the knitting look. When you work a k2tog decrease the second stitch lies on top of the first stitch and when viewed from the knit side of the fabric will lean towards the right. (When viewed from the purl side the directional lean of decreases is not that visible)

Decreases can be worked at the very edge of the knitting but generally I prefer to work decreases at least 1 or 2 stitches in from the edge as this gives the knitted fabric a smoother edge for sewing up or picking up stitches. Working the k2tog decrease 2 stitches in from the end of a row will give a column of 2 stitches leaning towards the right following the same direction of decrease as the actual edge The image below shows the left hand end of a piece of stocking stitch where the k2tog decrease has been worked 2 stitches in from the edge. 

If you work the k2tog decrease at the beginning of a knit row i.e. knit 2, k2tog, the decrease will still lean to the right although the edge itself is decreasing towards the left. Working this decrease at the beginning of a row will give a less defined edge as can be seen in the image below. 

However there are occasions when decreasing like this gives a better result e.g. when decreasing in a Fair Isle pattern one stitch from the edge, the second stitch sits on top of the first stitch and helps to keep the continuity of the pattern.

There are other ways of working a right leaning decrease  but as they involve a lot of moving of stitches I have not found the need to work an alternative right leaning decrease.

Left Leaning Decreases

The k2tog decrease makes a very smooth right leaning decrease but the left leaning decrease generally used in the UK does not give as smooth a finish. The method used to work a left leaning decrease is, slip 1 (knitwise), knit 1, pass the slipped stitch over (skpo or sl1, k1, psso). In this decrease the first stitch sits on top of the second stitch and leans toward the left when viewed from the knit side of the fabric.

Because this decrease does not look as smooth as the k2tog decrease, knitters over the years have tried other methods of working a left leaning decrease that more nearly matches the k2tog decrease. Barbara G Walker came up with the slip slip knit (ssk) decrease which is generally used in American patterns. For those of you less familiar with this method of decrease you slip the next 2 stitches (knitwise) one at a time to the right needle. Put the point of the left needle through these 2 slipped stitches (from left to right) in front of the right needle and knit the 2 together.

You may ask ‘why not just work a knit 2 together through the back loop’. This will also give you a left leaning decrease and is often used in older Scottish patterns but by knitting through the back of the loop you twist the stitches. Working an ssk decrease the stitches are re-orientated on the needle so they are not twisted. The image below shows a sample where the ssk decrease has been worked 2 stitches in from the beginning of a knit row. This gives a column of 2 stitches leaning to the left, following the direction of decrease and giving a smooth line of stitches for picking up along the edge or seaming.

As with the right leaning decrease it can also be worked at the end of a row (still 2 stitches in from the edge) but this time the decrease is leaning in the opposite direction to the decreasing edge.

There is a variation on the ssk decrease that has been developed in recent years. In the original ssk decrease the next 2 stitches are slipped knitwise one at a time to the right needle. However if you slip the first stitch knitwise but the second stitch purlwise and then complete the decrease as before; the resulting left leaning decrease is flatter than the original ssk decrease.

In the sample below I have worked 3 methods of left leaning decrease, the right most decrease is skpo, followed by the original ssk and then the alternate version of ssk. In the picture they may not look that different but the left most decrease line gives the smoothest, flattest finish.

Once you understand the visual impact of different decreases you can choose to use the best decrease for the finished result you are trying to achieve. I will write another post about working decreases on the purl side of the fabric and also about using decreases when shaping garments.