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Basic decrease techniques

Want to learn the most basic decrease techniques? We have tutorial videos to show you how to decrease by knitting 2 stitches together in knit or purl, by lifting a stitch over one or more stitches, and more.

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Videos: 6
1:17
Decrease - SKP

Sometimes you want to make a piece smaller and this is made by knitting stitches together – it’s called to decrease (dec). Most commonly the decreases are made on rows from right side (RS), but sometimes it’s also necessary to decrease on wrong side rows, e.g. when you are to decrease on every row. In this video we decrease 1 stitch from RS: slip on stitch over on right needle, knit 1 stitch, pass the slipped stitch over the knitted stitch.
1:24
Decrease – K2tog (knit 2 together)

Probably the easiest way to decrease 1 stitch - knit 2 stitches together as one. In the video we first knit 2 stitches together in the front loops, the dec leans right. Then we knit 2 stitches twisted together, i.e. we knit them together in the back loops and the dec leans to the left.
1:21
Decrease - sl1, K1, psso

This dec with the abbreviations in title means that you decrease 1 stitch by first slipping a stitch, then knitting a stitch, then passing the slipped stitch over the knitted stitch. This will create a decrease leaning to the left. This method gives the exact same dec result as "ssk (slip, slip, knit)". Our video is showing you how to "sl1, K1, psso" first in continental style, and then in US style knitting.
1:37
Decrease - P2 sts tog

When you decrease in purled stitches, you purl 2 sts together into 1 stitch. In our video we first show how to do this the continental style, and then US style.
3:13
Decrease 3 sts to 1

To make a nice decrease from 3 to 1, where the middle stitch is kept and the sts on each side are dec, this video shows you two ways; first with help of a cable needle, then without which works okey if your yarn is not to slippery.
0:59
Decrease SSK

SSK = short for slip, slip, knit, meaning that you slip 1 st, slip the next, then put left needle back into the slipped sts and knit them together. This will create a decrease leaning to the left. This method gives the exact same dec result as "slip 1, K1, psso". Our video is showing you how to SSK first in continental style, and then in US style knitting.