Seed st, V-neck, and decreases -- Oh My!

How-to Questions
1

Hello! I’m brand new to the forum – what an awesome site this is!!
Hoping someone can help clear up a little confusion.

I’m knitting the V-neck sweater pictured below from the Tahki Spring/Summer 2006 Collection. The entire sweater is done in seed stitch. To shape the front V-neckline the pattern says:

“Place a marker between 2 center sts.
At each neck edge, dec 1 st every other row 10 times, every 4 rows 7 times as follows:
([B]RS[/B]) Continue in Seed st; on Left Front, work across to 3 sts before marker, ssk, k1; on Right Front, join a second strand of yarn, k1, k2tog, work to end…”

Q1: Wouldn’t it make more sense to do the k2tog (right-slanting decrease) on the Left Front and the ssk (left-slanting decrease) on the Right Front so the V appears smoother?

Q2: Are k2tog and ssk the best decreases to use with seed st in this case?

Q3: What do I do on the WS rows where I just decreased to maintain the seed stitch? i.e. Do I just continue to k the p stitches and p the k stitches as they face me? If so, that means on Left Front my first WS row will require p2 before I launch into k1 p1…to end, and my next WS row will require p3 before k1 p1…to end, and subsequent WS rows will continue alternating p2 vs. p3 then k1 p1…, right?

Apologies, Q3 is particularly hard to explain. I sure hope someone can either verify my thinking is correct or set me straight! Would appreciate any help!

2

  1. Yes, but sometimes doing it the opposite way makes a firmer edge. Looks like you may be picking up for the neckband so that could be why, and it won’t show as much as you think. The dec would slant toward the neckband.

  2. Sure, they’re fine.

  3. Yes, p the knits and k the purls; if you have 2 sts together that are the same, they’ll be decreased on the next row, then covered by the neckband so they won’t show as much as you think when you’re done.

3

Great! Sounds like I was on the right track. Thanks so much for your help!