Ok so I am Finishing a mitten and I am stuck toward the end where I start decreasing.
Here is a link for a picture of the mitts
And the part of the pattern where I am stuck is in bold and is in italics:
Shape top
Place marker after the foll number of sts to divide the sts into two halves for back and palm of hand:
41⁄2 sts/in
51⁄2 sts/in
61⁄2 sts/in
71⁄2 sts/in
81⁄2 sts/in
61⁄2 71⁄2 [16.5 19 14 16 18 20 20 24 24 28 28 32
81⁄2" circumference 21.5 cm]
20 sts.
24
28
32
36
Next rnd dec rnd: *Ssk or k2tog as necessary to maintain patt integrity, work in patt to 2 sts before next m, k2tog or ssk as necessary to maintain patt integrity; rep from * one more time—4 sts decreased; 2 sts each from back and palm of hand.
Next rnd: Keeping in patt as much as possible, work 1 rnd even.
Rep the last 2 rnds until the foll number of sts rem:
41⁄2 sts/in
51⁄2 sts/in
61⁄2 sts/in
71⁄2 sts/in
61⁄2 71⁄2 [16.5 19 16 20 20 20 20 24 24 28 28 32
81⁄2" circumference 21.5 cm]
24 sts.
24
28
32
81⁄2 sts/in
Rep dec rnd every rnd until the foll number of sts rem:
41⁄2 sts/in
51⁄2 sts/in
61⁄2 sts/in
71⁄2 sts/in
81⁄2 sts/in
61⁄2 71⁄2 [16.5 19 4 4
4 4
4 8
8 8
8 8
81⁄2" circumference 21.5 cm]
4 sts.
4
8
8
8
36
Cut yarn, leaving an 8" tail. Thread tail on a tapestry needle, draw through rem sts, pull tight to close hole and fasten off on WS.
The pattern essentially is telling me to decrease as needed. I am a fairly new knitter and I am not great at determining how often I need to decrease for this mitt to take shape. I tried the decrease and ended up taking the decrease portion of the mitt a loose as I didn't like it and I noticed some laddering. These mitts are a gift to my mom so I really want them to look nice.
Thank you all in advance for your help!
