How Do I Decrease On 2x2 Ribbing (Hat)?

#1

Hi, I am in the middle of knitting a hat and I didn’t like the pattern that they had originally. I started with a “knit one row purl one row” pattern for the brim and now I want to start ribbing to the top alternating with pink and black. I know how to rib and I know how to change colors but I would like to know what to do when I get to the point that I need to finish and start decreasing. If someone has the answer to that, that would be awesome. (if it helps the hat is 60 sts around) also if it helps the pattern originally says “k8 k2tog 6times” “Purl to end” “K7 K2tog 6 times” “Purl to end” “K6 K2tog 6 times” and so on.
thanks for your time!

#2

For k2,p2 ribs, knit the two sts together as one st. This will probably be at a knit st followed by another knit st on the first decrease row. The next decrease will be on 2 purl sts and I would purl 2 together here. The decrease will interrupt the rib pattern and you’ll have to look for that interruption when you do the next row but just knit the sts that look like Vs and purl the ones that look like loops and you’ll be fine.
When you come to a row where you’re decreasing a knit next to a purl, I’d knit2tog through the back loop so that the knit st stays on top. If it’s a purl next to a knit, knit2tog.

#3

IT shows less if you start out by decreasing in the purl ribs. So work a round by k2 p2tog, k2, p2 and repeat that around, work a round in the new rib k2 p1, k2 p2. Then on the next round dec the other purl rib - k2 p1 k2 p2tog and work the new rib k2, p1, around. Then on the following row, do k2tog, p1 k2, p1, work a round with no decs and finally k1 p1 k2tog, p1, and a round in k1 p1 ribbing. Then do a final couple rounds as k2tog around.

#4

So, while I am bragging about my hat in one thread, I am going to complain about the same hat in another :slight_smile: Here it is.

http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1331986#post1331986

I have two important questions:

  1. It fits but the recipient would prefer it to be more ‘snug’. It’s been blocked already. Can I try to shrink it in a dryer? The yarn is Patons classic wool. It grew a bit after I washed it (as did the swatch, no surprises here). Which leads me to another important question

  2. How on earth one could factor in all the details and still have a multiple of 18 for the pattern [I]and [/I]a hat that fits perfectly?

I knit and washed the swatch to see if it grows. Did the math for the circumference and the gauge based on st st hoping that my Fair Isle part would look this way. Got 108 st, a happy coincidence, I needed a multiple of 18. But the hat is ribbing plus Fair Isle and the elasticity of those two is different… and it’s yet different from the stockinette swatch. What I am getting at is that I would like to measure a slightly stretched swatch to get a good fit but what to do about the colourwork that probably is not supposed to be stretched?

It seems logical to knit the ribbing on a smaller size needles but the first Fair Isle swatch looked really huge and the ribbing swatch looked nice and tidy so it didn’t seem reasonable at the time of testing.