A Way to Remember Direction of Slant for SSK and K2tog

#1

Confession time: It’s impossible for me to remember which way stitches for K2tog and SSK should lean in regular knitting, and the helpful tips I’ve seen so far . . . are, well, not helpful (i.e., the 2 in K2tog leans one direction and the S in SSK leans another direction, etc. etc. etc. WHAAAAAT?). Chalk it up to my inability to visualize words and numbers for very long!!

HOWEVER, today I discovered something: these two stitches lean in the same direction as your right needle points once you are set up to make the stitch.

Now, THAT I can remember because I can visualize doing the stitch right before making it!!! :woot:

Just thought I would share in case anyone else has difficulty remembering these two leaners (however, I suspect I’m not the first to figure this out).

P.S. And a special thanks to Annie Modesitt who pointed this same characteristic out for combination knitting; thus, helping me to figure out how to do left- and right-leaning decreases on [B]purl[/B] rows–something I have yet to see any instructions/directions for online!!!

#2

There’s not usually any pointers on the lean of dec sts on purl rows because you can’t see them on the purl side of the stitch, only the knit side. A p2tog leans the same way as k2tog, p2togtbl or ssp leans the same way as ssk. For regular knitters, maybe not for combination knitters.

#3

True. Because a combination knitter has her stitches turned so that the back leg is closer to the left needle point. Which is why I switched to continental – it’s just easier to follow instructions instead of always figuring things out: OK, the back loop… this is my front loop, so that one is [I]their[/I] back loop… :slight_smile:

And ssk would previously be just k2tog.

#4

You don’t have to stop and think ‘back loop/front loop’ just always knit into the leg closest to the needle tip.

#5

I use both combination and regular knitting depending on what I’m working on. If I’m doing miles and miles of stockinette stitch, I use combo knitting because it’s easier on my hands and my stitches are much more uniform. However, even with miles and miles of stockinette stitch, you still need to do some decreasing, and the pattern I’m currently working requires decreases EVERY row rather than decreases every other row. Hence, I had to figure out how to decrease on the purl side (and, yes, you can see this decrease on the right side). For one of these decreases, I slipped the stitches onto the right needle, turned the whole work around and knitted the two together. It worked perfectly.

For knitting in the round and lace knitting, I often go back to regular knitting (continental), and I’ve read that it’s probably good to switch between two methods as it works different muscles and cuts down on fatigue.

Anyway, I hope the tip I mentioned helps some folks.

#6

I will always remember this tip, Antares!!! Thanks so much for posting! Lovely!