Clarifying a pattern to decrease raglan

#1

greetings! I’m knitting the Bernat Chunky Kid’s Pullover, which I downloaded from their site. I’m a semi-beginner knitter… really comfortable knitting but not familiar with pattern-ese language! I am looking for help clarifying [COLOR=“Red”]this part [/COLOR]of the pattern:

Shape raglans: Cast off 2 (2-2-3-3) sts beg of next 2 rows. 41 (47-49-51-55) sts. [COLOR=“red”]Dec 1 st each end of needle on 3rd and every following 4th row 1 (0-1-2-3) time(s), then every following alt row [/COLOR]to 19 (21-23-23-25) sts, ending with a purl row. Leave rem sts on a st holder.

I am making the second size… so the first size in the brackets. I don’t understand what is meant once I’ve gotten to 47 sts and start decreasing on 3rd and every following 4th row (0) times, then every following alt row. When do I actually start decreasing for my size pattern? Help please! And thank you so much!

#2

When there’s 0 for your size instructions, skip over it and go to the next thing. So after you cast off on the next 2 rows, dec on the next row, then every other (following alt) row after that. Don’t do any dec on the 4th rows at all.

#3

brilliant! thanks so much! I wasn’t quite sure if I still had to knit 4 rows and just omit the decreases and then start doing alt dec rows. this really helps! really appreciate it!

#4

Nope, if it’s 0 for your size, then skip that part entirely, don’t ‘make up’ the rows by knitting anyway, they’re not needed for your size.

#5

The pattern is the same:

shape raglans: [COLOR=“Purple”]Cast off 2 (2-2-3-3) sts beg of next 2 rows. 41 (47-49-51-55)
sts. [COLOR=“Purple”]Dec 1 st each end of needle on 3rd and every following 4th row 1 (0-1-2-3)
time(s), then every following alt row to 19 (21-23-23-25) [/COLOR]sts,[/COLOR] ending with a purl
row. Leave rem sts on a st holder.

  1. I don’t understand why you would cast off at the beginning of the next 2 rows. It makes your sides different lengths right? Why don’t you cast off at the beginning and decrease at the end to make it more even?

  2. Also, I don’t understand the pattern. What do I have to do exactly to get to the 19 sts at the end?

Thank you

#6

Hi Nadine, I answered the first part of your question in your other post. In order to get to 19sts, decrease at each end of the row.
If you count the initial decrease of 2sts as row 1 and row 2, decrease at each end on row 5 and on row 9 and then decrease at each end every other row until there are 19sts left.

#7

The one row difference is only about 1/6 of an inch so it won’t be at all noticeable when you’re done.

#8

Still unclear to me. Would you be so kind as to write the steps? Like this:

Row 1 - bind off 2
2 - bind off 2
3 - decrease at beg and end
4 - decrease at beg and end etc (i think this is right)

Thank you!

#9

Still unclear to me. Would you be so kind as to write the steps? Like this:

Row 1 - bind off 2
2 - bind off 2
3 - decrease at beg and end
4 - decrease at beg and end etc (i think this is right)

Thank you!

#10

OK, no problem. For the smallest size:
Row 1 bind off 2sts
Row 2 bind off 2 sts
Row 3
Row 4
Row 5 Decrease at the beginning and at the end of row
Row 6
Row 7
Row 8
Row 9 Decrease at the beginning and at the end of row
Row 10
Row 11 Decrease at the beginning and at the end of row
Row 12
Row 13 Decrease at the beginning and at the end of row
Row 14
Row 15 Decrease at the beginning and at the end of row
And keep on decreasing on the odd number rows until there are 19sts left of the needle.

#11

Your first 2 steps are right -
Row 1 - bind off 2
Row 2 - bind off 2

Then -
Row 3 - dec at beg and end of row, do 3 rows with no decs and dec on the 4th row, which is row 7. Work another 3 rows, and dec on the 4th row, row 11. That’s if you’re doing the 4th size - [COLOR=Black]dec 1 (0-1-[B]2[/B]-3) time(s)[/COLOR]. Then you switch to every other row until you have the right number of sts.

If you’re doing a different size, you might also dec on row 15 or none at all after row 7. Then do the decs every RS row (same as every other one).

eta and clarify - I see salmonmac has a different numbering scheme than I do. It depends on whether you consider “dec on 3rd row” to actually be Row 3, or the 3rd row after the 2 BO rows, which would be Row 5. I figured it as row 3, she figures it as the 3rd row after binding off. Usually though, most patterns begin the decs on the next row after the BO which would be row 3.

#12

Hi Sue, I was interpreting “3rd” as counting three rows from the last bind off. The pattern doesn’t actually number the first two bind off rows as row 1 and row 2 (I did that just for ease in writing about them). It seems like something open to interpretation but either way, I don’t think it will make a major difference in the shape of the raglan.

#13

Adding a couple rows might change it a little. Generally though, patterns have you start the decs right away on the row after the 2nd BO. She first called them row 1, row 2 in post 8 and they are row 1 and row 2 of the shaping instructions, so the row after that would be the ‘3rd row’.

#14

So rows 3,4 and 6, 7, 8 etc are just regular knitting or pearling rows? If so, thank you. I think I’ve got it! ~ Nadine

#15

So rows 3,4 and 6, 7, 8 etc are just regular knitting or pearling rows? If so, thank you. I think I’ve got it! ~ Nadine

#16

So rows 3,4 and 6, 7, 8 etc are just regular knitting or pearling rows? If so, thank you. I think I’ve got it! ~ Nadine

#17

Yes, those rows are just worked even with no decreases. And the same goes for the even numbered rows 12, 14, 16 etc that follow.