Tip Tuesday: Increases & Decreases with The Suzy Kerchief
Are you looking for a quick WIP to cast on your needles, look no further than the Suzy Kerchief pattern. This Chickadee pattern is simpler than you might think. With just a few increase & decrease techniques like k1-f/b, ssk, and k2tog, you'll be well on your way to creating a beautiful accessory that's both stylish and fun to stitch up.
For this tutorial, we'll be using Chickadee yarn in the limited edition color Eucalyptus, but feel free to experiment with the wide variety of Chickadee color options to personalize your kerchief.
The Suzy Kerchief Pattern:
Before we delve into the techniques, let's take a moment to understand the Suzy Kerchief pattern. The pattern starts and ends at a point on either side of the kerchief. When you have reached the desired width, you will decrease stitches to form the opposite point. As a result, this project requires you to know both how to increase and decrease your work.
Increase: k1-f/b
- Knit into the front loop of the next stitch as you normally would, but do not slide the stitch off the left needle.
- Instead, without twisting the stitch, knit into the back loop of the same left needle stitch.
- Now, slide the stitch off the left needle. You've created one stitch from one.
Decreases: ssk & k2tog:
- Slip the next stitch as if to knit, then slip another stitch as if to knit.
- Insert the left needle into the front loops of these slipped stitches.
- Knit these two stitches together through the back loops.
- Insert the right needle into the next two stitches on the left needle as if to knit them together.
- Knit these stitches together as if they were one stitch.
On the following row, all increased and decreased stitches should be worked as any other stitch.
Putting These Techniques To Work!
Now that you're familiar with these techniques, it's time to cast on and see these stitches in action. All three of these stitches are used in the Suzy Kerchief pattern, making it an ideal practice pattern for newbie stitchers.
Increases and decreases form the foundations for socks, sweaters, and so much more!
Now that you’ve added increases & decreases to your knitting toolbox, you will be able to stitch more and more complex projects.
So grab your needles and yarn, and let's get knitting!
