Please help me understand this...

[Quiltlady]

Can someone please help me understand the next instructions on the sweater I'm making for my gd?

It says "Bind off 4 sts. at beg of next row, I understand that part...

the it says "then dec at armhole edge, (2 sts) ONCE and (1 st) TWICE. I am confused at those directions.


Thanks so much!

[knitqueen]

Can someone please help me understand the next instructions on the sweater I'm making for my gd?

It says "Bind off 4 sts. at beg of next row, I understand that part...

the it says "then dec at armhole edge, (2 sts) ONCE and (1 st) TWICE. I am confused at those directions.


Thanks so much!

The armhole edge is the edge where you are binding off those 4sts. So you'll BO 4 then finish that row. Turn your work and work back towards the armhole edge, and once you get to the edge you will need to decrease 2 stitches. You can do this by doing two K2togs in the last 4 stitches of the row OR you can do a double decrease by doing a sk2p in which you will slip on stitch, k2tog, then pass the slipped stitch over.

So that takes care of the 'dec at armhole edge 2sts ONCE', so to do the last part of your instruction you will turn your work around again and decrease 1 stitch at the armhole edge (the beginning of the row), work to the end of the row, turn and work back to the armhole edge and decrease 1 stitch again. That's the 'dec 1st TWICE'.

Hope this helps.

[Quiltlady]

Thank you so much!!! I just did not get what they wanted. So now I can continue on. Thanks again!!

[candy]

Knitqueen, if a pattern says to bind off 2sts 3 times can I do the k2tog twice or is it better to bind off 2sts? This is for the sleeve cap shaping. I was binding off when it said 4sts 1 time, 3sts 1 time 2sts 3 time. But then when it got to bind off 1sts 4 times i would just k2tog instead of binding off. My question is, should I bind off when it says 2sts 3times or just K2tog?

[suzeeq]

I'd do BOs at the beginning of the armhole rows, rather than 2 k2tog or p2tog at the end of a row. Or at the beginning of a row, for that matter. Seems like it would be less clunky looking.

sue

[hunterjenn]

If it says BO, you definitely need to bind off. Doing a BO will create an edge on your sleeve that you'll use to attach it to your body. Doing a decrease instead will shrink up your fabric rather than make an edge, and seaming would become a nightmare!!

ETA: I think you'd better go back and undo the k2togs you did instead of BOs--I fear you'd be in for some real frustration later if you leave them as is!

[suzeeq]

Only use a k2tog instead of a BO if it says BO 1 st; that looks about the same thing then.

sue

[hunterjenn]

Right, the fabric itself will look fine, but if she's doing several K2togs instead of BOs, the edge of the sleeve itself will be shorter than it should be, causing it not to fit well in the armhole. It can also affect the way the sleeve cap fits over the wearer's shoulder.

[suzeeq]

Oh I quite agree with you jenn.

sue