hello everyone, i learned how to knit with the wonderful help of knittinghelp.com, so even though this is my first time on the forums, i have been a visitor of the site for quiet some time.
i have a question regarding pattern instructions. this is for a sweather that is knitted in sections. the back section has the following instructions:
" when piece measures X cm cast off for armhole each side on every other row as follows: 3 sts 1 time and 1 st 2 times. "
what does " 3 sts 1 time etc" mean? am i knitting 3 stitches together? i never knitted a sweater, so i have no idea how to finish armholes.
No, you’re not knitting 3 stitches together. You’re casting off – also called binding off – pretty much the same thing you do at the end of a project, only you’re only doing a few stitches. When you want to start shaping for the armholes, you’ll do:
One row, cast off 3 stitches at each end
One row normal (but 6 stitches shorter)
One row, cast off 1 stitch at each end
One row normal
One row, cast off 1 stitch at each end
…though on second thought it might be hard to bind off at the end of the row, so maybe you would do:
One row, cast off 3 stitches at beginning; rest is normal
One row, cast off 3 stitches at beginning (which is the other side)
Four rows, each of which you cast off 1 stitch at the beginning but do the rest as normal
The “1 time” and “2 times” in this case just refer to the number of rows. You have three “decreases”, only they’re cast off to form an edge rather than knit together. So what you get at the end is something like this:
That’s pretty much it. Here it is, row by row:
Row 1. Bind off 3 stitches, then continue and finish row.
Row 2. Bind off 3 stitches, then continue and finish row.
Row 3. Knit (or purl, depending on the pattern) 2 stitches together, then continue and finish row.
Row 4. Knit (or purl, depending on the pattern) 2 stitches together, then continue and finish row.
Row 5. Knit (or purl, depending on the pattern) 2 stitches together, then continue and finish row.
Row 6. Knit (or purl, depending on the pattern) 2 stitches together, then continue and finish row.
You should end up with 10 fewer stitches than you had.
but the pattern says each side every other row, doesn’t that mean one row will bind off, the next i do not and so on.
Yes, you’re right. The BOs have to be at the beginning of the row only, but the decs can be at both ends of the row. So you BO 3 for 2 rows, then dec at beg and end of the next, work the next row across, dec the next, etc.
You’re right! But as I think one previous poster pointed out, binding off at the end of the row leaves you hanging-- literally:). So if you do a decrease every row, alternating sides, you’ll probably be happier. And just in case you’re concerned, the majority of patterns have you bind off on every row, alternating sides-- so your sweater won’t look odd!
But to do a dec, you don’t have to bind off, just knit or purl 2 together. So that can be done on at the end of the row as well as the beginning. It’s the BO that can’t be done at the end of a row.
