Increases and Decreases for Lace Knitting

May 12, 2014 by Sarah White

Because I can do that, I decided that this week ought to be devoted to lace knitting. Lace is great for summer, and it’s fun to knit any time. Even just a little bit of lace as an edging or a panel on a garment can make it look fancier, but it doesn’t have to be difficult.

Lace comes down to the strategic placement of holes (we call them eyelets and they’re made by a technique known as the yarn over) and decreases that usually serve to keep the stitch count the same from row to row.

While we usually see yarn overs before a knit stitch, there are different situations where you might encounter yarn overs and it’s good to be comfortable with them if you’re going to knit lace.

There are lots of different decreases you may encounter because they, too, are used for decorative effect. A knit two together, for example, slants to the right, while a slip, slip, knit goes to the left. Lace knitting is also the most common place to find what’s often called a “centered double decrease” because that’s what it is, or an s2kp (slip two, knit 1, pass the slipped stitches over) because it’s that, too.

How do you feel about lace knitting? I like it but I don’t have the patience for difficult/big projects. Which is why we’ll stick with the pretty easy stuff this week.

(The project pictured, by the way, is one of my favorites, the Candle Flame Cowl, which looks fancy but only uses yarn overs and knit two togethers.)

Next Pattern:

Comments

KateMet says
May 13, 2014 at 2:26 am
I just tonight finished the Zepherine cardigan from Interweave Knits Spring 2014. It has a lace yoke, which is the last thing you knit before it’s done. If I hadn’t promised this sweater to my grandma, it probably would have been put in the naughty corner. The bottom is simple, but boring. The top is fun, but apt to stretch with the weight of the whole sweater. But. Done and dusted, I just have to sew buttons and block it tomorrow.

Have you read?

Knit a Glasses Holder for Your Bedside Table

Not too long ago I was seeing a crochet pattern for a glasses holder shaped like a bear all over the Internet. It was super cute, and also useful as a place to put your glasses on your bedside table instead of just throwing them somewhere random.

This project stewed in my brain for a little while and I decided I needed to make a knit version, but I didn’t want to make a bear. If you know anything about me you might know that I’m a cat person, so of course my version had to be a cat.

The base is just a basic little basic worked from the center out to the desired size, then up the sides as long as you want them. Knit some ears and add embellishments to make it whatever kind of animal you want.

The way I figured out to work the base from the center out was to use a crochet cast on, which gives you an easier way to pick up stitches from the back of the cast on than if you worked a more traditional cast on for a knitting project. It’s kind of fun to do things in a different way from time to time.

This little project is adorable if I do say so myself, and even as a plain little basket not made into an animal it’s a cute way to keep your glasses or other little things in one place. I’m tempted to make one for my desk to hold pens or even little little scissors and sewing needles that are always on my desk but somehow always seem to get lost on my desk.

If you need a little holder for your glasses on your table, check out the pattern at Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Our Daily Craft]