What is a decrease in knitting?
A decrease in knitting is a knitting technique used to decrease the number of stitches required to create a fabric. As you progress with this technique, your fabric piece gets smaller and wider. This technique shapes knitted items without making any other cuts or stitches.
What are the common decrease techniques?
It is a famous technique and an important part of knitting any fabric item. There are various ways to do this, and let’s look at them below.
Knit Two Together
Knit two together is one of the simplest decrease techniques in the domain. Here, you stitch two stitches together to create a single stitch, which decreases the length of your fabric.
Slip Slip Knit
Use the slip-slip knit if you want the opposite look to the knit-two-together decrease technique. In this technique, the stitches are decreased, leaning towards the left side instead of knit-two-together stitches, which move right.
Purl Two Together
This technique is the same as the knit two-together decrease technique, but the only difference here is that purl two-together is carried out on the purl side of the knit fabric.
Where is the decrease in knitting technique used?
Decrease in knitting techniques are used in various areas due to their benefits. Let’s look at some areas where this is used extensively.
Design Elements
A decrease in knitting adds design elements like decorative lines or laces to any fabric, making it look even better.
Sleeve Caps
Decreases are used to add sleeve caps when creating sleeves on a knitted fabric item.
Hat Crowns
A hat has a cylindrical area at the top where the threads are joined together, known as the crown. A decrease in knitting technique creates hat crowns, which get smaller after each iteration.
Shaping Garments
Decreased knitting techniques shape garments in different areas and provide a better finish. Knitted clothing often uses this to style waists, shoulders, and neckline areas.