Hi,
Happy New Year to all!
I am knitting a cardigan for my little girl and the pattern sequence goes “yfwd, sl1, k2tog, psso, yfwd, k3” - my question is am I doing the sl1 knitwise pr purlwise? I have been doing it knitwise and it looked a little twisted but I presumed how its meant to be but then I was picking the project up again and have now confused myself 
this is the pattern:
Thank you in advance for any and all help.
Lou x
Does it not say somewhere in the front matter of the pattern? I’ve always heard that if it’s not explicitly stated, it’s purlwise, so as to not twist the stitch.
Typically a slipped stitch used in a decrease would be slipped knitwise. I’ve not seen it done with the yfwd on the slipped stitch. Is this decrease on the RS?
I would also go with the thought of if it doesn’t say specifically to slip knit wise or doesn’t say specifically somewhere in the pattern, then slip purl wise. That said though it isn’t likely to ruin the cardigan if you have been slipping knit wise, it will just make it a slightly different look. Go with which ever you like the look of, or if you have got very far in the pattern and don’t want to restart just continue as you have started. The important thing is that you’re happy with how it looks.
GG is correct about the general rule. Slip purlwise unless it’s a decrease. For a decrease, slip knitwise. You can work this decrease however you would like of course but slipping knitwise gives a slightly neater decrease.
Ya learn something new every day! I hadn’t heard the “unless it’s a decrease” part before.
A stitch slipped purlwise then passed over in a decrease will then be twisted. Ssk’s use knitwise slip stitches or one knitwise and the second purlwise to purposely twist the stitch behind and not the stitch that will be on top and show. Lately I’ve been using skp for my left leaning decreases. After hating this decrease for years I tried it again with yarn that was giving me fits because it’s splitty doing ssk and find that now I prefer it over ssk. Go figure. Without more info from the pattern I do wonder if slipping the stitch that will be passed over with yarn in front makes a difference.
Thank you so much to the most helpful group, I really appreciate it so much and I am so grateful to have found this gem of a group, all the help I have got since is invaluable.
My instinct was that knitwise is correct - the pattern doesn’t specify, I just double checked. But then I was doubting it looked right? See picture. I think maybe it just needs to be longer to open up a bit more?
Lou x
It looks good to me, very nice.
Just to add confusion, if you web search the pattern phrase you’ll find a bunch of demo videos and some slip knit wise and some slip purl wise. I think in certain patterns or for personal preference for a certain look for a piece either way can be ‘correct’.
I’m swatching in half twisted rib, purposely twisting through choice as opposed to accidentally learning to knit ‘incorrectly’. People could look and say I worked it wrong or that it’s an attractive alternative to regular rib.
Looking good! That’s a lovely stitch pattern and an adorable cardigan.
Thanks everyone for the support, encouragement and reassurance. I think I was staring at it too long wondering if it is right.
Half twisted rib sounds interesting, I just lack the confidence and always think if I am doing it wrong it would look better being done the “right way” which isnt the case.
Well, it’s certainly beneficial to know what’s ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ so we have choices rather than be surprised by unexpected outcomes. If I’m unfamiliar with a new stitch I definitely try to get it right, and after that see if there is something I want to change. There is so much to learn that I will also continue to be accidentally wrong many times too!
