Why do patterns usually say to increase or decrease every other row?

#1

I’m making a sort tote-bag purse, and I started knitting the base yesterday. I realized that I had been working my increases on every round instead of every other round. However, most purse and even hat patterns I’ve read call for decreases every other round.

I’m not very far into the knitting, so I’ll probably just frog it and start over. However, it didn’t look that bad, so I was wondering why most patterns call for you to decrease/increase every other row instead of every row? Is it a cosmetic or structural type of thing? I just sort of curious…

#2

EOR allows for a more gradual incs/decs but it also allows for working them on the same side when worked flat (usually RS)…which, for some, is easier. There are instances where they’re worked every row but that creates dramatic shaping.

cam

#3

It’s the rate of increases needed for the pattern. The more rows you put between the inc rows/rounds, the more gradual the inc.

#4

I guess what I’m having a hard time pictures is whether or not doing more gradual increases will increase the diameter of the purse base. In the case of this purse, I’m going from 24 (22 x 2) stitches up to 200 stitches (60 x 40). So, no matter what I’ll end up with 200 stitches around, but will increasing more gradually mean that the diameter of the purse base will be larger?

#5

but will increasing more gradually mean that the diameter of the purse base will be larger?

Yes. If you want the distance from first inc to last to be shorter, do them every row. (For instance, if doing them EOR creates a circle, you could, essentially, create an ellipse by doing them every row.)

cam

#6

Thanks for all your replies! That would be interesting to play around with then the increases would be done to create different shapes. :slight_smile: