Lace Shawl Help (YFWD and slipping stitches)

How-to Questions
1

Hello everyone,

I’m sure glad I found this forum! I’ve been knitting since I was very small, but without anyone to teach me I basically made up my own ways to do most things. I’m now finally trying to learn the correct ways and terminology so that I can follow patterns and make more complex things. I’ve started by trying to make a simple lace shawl by Rowan:

http://www.knitrowan.com/designs-and-patterns/patterns/sunburst-shawl

The first line in its entirety is ‘*K1, (yfwd, sl 1, K1, psso) 3 times, yfwd, sl 1, K2tog, psso, (yfwd, K2tog) 3 times, yfwd, rep from * to last st, K1.’ I know how to do all the stitches involved, but putting them together is confusing me. I’ll break the sequence down with my questions - if anybody could clear them up, I’d be very grateful! This is my first try at lace.

1: K1, (yfwd, sl 1, K1, psso) 3 times
I am confused by two things here, and when I tried to search for a solution I found this video and became even more confused: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRJzosGV8ac

Here the knitter returns the yfwd before the K1, so basically making a wrap rather than an additional stitch? Is this correct? Surely if so I will be decreasing quite dramatically here, and I don’t see any corresponding dramatic increases. I feel like I need to make the extra stitch, then pass the stitch which was originally slipped over. Which leads me to my second question - in the video the stitch is slipped purlwise. The instructions don’t specify (:knitting:), and I understand in that case that you should assume purlwise unless there is a decrease…but there is, so shouldn’t I be slipping it knitwise?

My other questions are basically the same thing, but just for clarity:
2: yfwd, sl 1, K2tog, psso
So here I am decreasing two stitches, with the K2tog and psso? But then am I also creating one with the yfwd, to decrease by just one stitch total? And again, which way should I be slipping the stitch?

3: yfwd, K2tog
So the stitches here are staying constant with an increase from the yfwd, or decreasing?

Thank you very much knitters, and apologies for the long post!

2

That video isn’t the right one for the steps you’re supposed to be doing. It may be applicable to a specific pattern and not in general. For most directions, including the ones you quote, yarn forward, slip one purlwise, knit one and then pass the slipped stitch over. When you do the knit one, you’ll bring the yarn to the back and that’ll complete the yarn over. The stitch number will stay the same here.
You’re right, the yfwd, sl 1, K2tog, psso decreases two sts and increases one resulting in a decrease of one.
For the yfwd, k2tog, the stitch number remains the same.

3

Thank you very much salmonmac, I can finally get started!

Is it alright if I just check why I slip the stitch purlwise in this instance? I was under the impression that I should slip knitwise when there is a decrease to make it lie flat.

4

You’re right, slip knitwise. Amy shows the slip one in this video as a slip one knitwise.


I tend to go with slipping purlwise here even though it’s a dec but it’s a personal quirk. Go ahead and slip knitwise.