Help with first sweater neck shaping

#1

Hi!

I just started knitting less than a year ago when I had my first child. I’ve been doing hats and scarves, and am trying my first sweater for my DS, who is a year and a half. I’ve taught myself to knit using books and this website, but I’ve never seen anyone do a sweater - so I’m struggling along.

I completed the back of the sweater, but then got to the following directions about the front neck shaping:

K23 (of 53 stitches) and turn, leaving rem sts on a holder. Work each side of neck separately.

Dec 1 st at neck edge of next 4 rows, then on foll 2 alt rows. :shock:

Does this mean that I decrease (using k2tog or ssp??) at the beginning of the next 4 rows? So that would be the first 2 stitches of the WS, then RS, then WS, then RS - or do I decrease the first 2 stitches (WS), then the last 2 stitches of the next row (RS), and the same for the next WS and RS?

And for the “foll 2 alt rows” - does that mean decrease at the beg of the WS, then knit straight across for the RS, and then do a decrease at the next WS?

Thanks for any help!

#2

Welcome!

The reason they specify the neck edge is just to try to avoid the confusion you’re having.

You’ll be decreasing (k2tog or p2tog is good enough) at the same edge each of the next 4 rows, so it will turn out to be the beginning of the row when you’re starting at the neck edge and at the end of the row when you’re starting at the arm edge.

So you decrease for 4 rows at the neck edge and then for the next rows knit one even, dec, one even, dec.

#3

Thanks for the quick reply!

So just to make sure I understand, I decrease only on the neck edge for 4 rows, then decrease on only 2 of the next 4 rows, again at the neck edge?

Thanks again!

#4

:thumbsup: Exactly!