Pattern for a toy elephant that is knit in the round using 5 needles, the decreases are for the trunk
This is what is typed, mind you this pattern is older.
72 sts are on the needles, 15sts on needles 1 and 2 and 21sts on needles 3 & 4
need to decrease down to 10 sts
"Cont in rounds, dec on every alt round 5 times, on every 4th round 3 times and every 6th round 5 times:
K the first 2 sts of needles 1+3 tog and sts 3+4 of 4th needle tog tbl and K the last 2sts of needles 2+4 and sts 3+4 from end of 3rd needle tog.
Over rem 10 sts work 12 rounds, then work 2 sts tog throughout, draw rem sts tog with the thread and fasten off.
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What is the name of your pattern and the designer or source?
There’s something not quite right here and I’m wondering if there are errata online.
This is an old King Babar pattern, no source or publisher anywhere on this. It could be an old Vogue pattern or something from an old magazine. It uses the abbreviation Wwm which I had to search to find the meaning: When work measures.
I have typed this section just as the pattern is written, so nothing is missing.
Thank you for your time.
thinking it might mean decrease 5 times on every alternate round. That would be 10 rounds and on every alternate round you decrease 5 sts
Next you would decrease 3 times on every 4th round, meaning working 3 plain rows of knit and then the decrease round.
Then decrease 5 times on every 6th round, meaning working 5 plain rows of knit and then the decrease round
This could be but the explanation of how to do the decreases between the needles is so confusing
Yes it is confusing. The intervals in rounds is clear as is the number of times to work the rounds but the decreases don’t add up to 62 as I read it. Starting with 72sts and ending at 10 sts you would need to decrease 62sts.
The decreases are symmetrically arranged on the needles. If you call the first dec round, round 1 the decreases are on rounds 1,2,5,7,9 (that’s every alt round 5x) then on rounds 13,17 and 21 (that’s every 4th round 3x) and finally rounds 27,33,39,45 and 51 (that’s every 6th round 5x).
But given the placement of the decreases there are 6 decreases per round and that adds up to more than 62sts decreased.
The decreases seem to be placed like this where the beginning of round is at the beginning of needle one and the partial triangles are sts knit together:
You can fiddle with the decrease rounds and get to 12sts although the decreases will take fewer rounds. Or you can see how the trunk is shaping up and maybe take 2 extra decreases to get to 10sts.
For example if you decrease on rounds 1,3,5,7 then 11,15 and finally 21,27,33 and 39 that’s a decrease of 60sts getting you to 12sts remaining. That’s assuming that you decrease in all 6 places on each decrease round.