Eno Twist – an unusual decrease
Here, at last, is the unusual double decrease I unvented for a shawl that I’m in the midst of writing up. The shawl is called Eno River, and so I called this the Eno Twist, because the abbreviation got a little unwieldy otherwise: SSTSKPSSOYO2K3tog? Yeah, I don’t think so.
This is not a usual sort of double decrease. A normal double decrease takes three stitches and turns them into one. This one takes six stitches and turns them into four. Only two stitches are decreased, though perhaps I shouldn’t really call it a double decrease.
You won’t see this decrease in its original habitat until the Eno River shawl pattern is available, but it looks pretty nifty in a column as shown above, so maybe you’ll want to play around with it and use it for your own devices. Raglan decreases, maybe? Go for it!
Summary: start with six stitches on the needle. The first thing is that the middle two stitches are going to change places. The next is that you’ll knit a left-leaning double decrease, make two yarn overs, and then knit a right-leaning double decrease.
These are the six stitches I worked with.
Slip each of A and B, knitwise.
Bring the needle between C and D, from behind, and slip D knitwise. You can catch hold of C, let it hang loose, or use a cable needle: your choice. In any case, put C back on the left-hand needle.
Knit A, B, and D together to make a left leaning decrease (as in SSSK) then yarn over twice. Knit C, E, and F together to make a right-leaning decrease.
Note: if you’re a combination knitter, you’ll need to reseat C, E, and F to make this possible. If you don’t recognize the phrase “combination knitter”, this probably doesn’t apply to you. (I’ll be writing more about this in the next couple of weeks, though.)
On the next row, knit the first loop of the double decrease and purl the second (doesn’t matter if you’re working flat or in the round, the result is the same).
If you use this in a project or pattern, I’d love to know. If you’ve seen this before somewhere else, that would interest me too. Thanks!
(If you like my posts like this, please consider supporting me on Patreon. Thanks!)
Love the look of this. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thank you!
This is a beautiful decrease. Thanks so much for sharing it!
Thank you!
It is beautiful, thank you for sharing it.
But have you ever tried encoding:
SSTSKPSSOYO2K3tog
just kidding,
naomipaz.
Hello six years later, LOL!
I have to start by saying that your blog is so enjoyable! =:-D
I wanted to send a pic, but “WinDOH!s” recently decided to stop recognizing my ancient Samsung phone as a USB device. So I’ll try to describe something I’m trying…
What it is, is that I tried t follow the instructions you gave, and my results aren’t worth describing, LOL!
So I used your stitch more as an Inspiration, and fell back on my wonky-but-works-for-me methodology…
SSSK – I used slip, knit, PSSO, knit, and pass the previous stitch over ((KSPKP…)) because my attempts at the accepted way always look like an giraffe got into my string.
K3tog – Similarly, and also to mirror the above, I used knit, “scoot” the stitch back onto the Left needle, “peristitulate” the now-second loop over and bring the first stitch through it, then knit the new first stitch, again Scoot it back to the Left needle, and again,, “peristitulate” the now-second loop over and bring the first stitch through it. ((I actually made up the term “peristitulate” so that I would not confuse it with “pass” – my wonky brain just couldn’t deal with using the same term for both the right needle and left needle actions; same for “slip” – so I still “register” the KSP abbreviation, but when doing my mental “chants” while knitting, think “knit, scoot back, peristitulate…..)) ANYWAY, so it turns out to be KSPSKP OR in my terms,
Knit-Scoot-Peristitulate-Scoot-Knit-Peristitulate.
It sounds really weird, but it works for me 😉 because I don’t mix-up right-needle-operations with left-needle-operations.
So, onwards – As if the above isn’t confusing enough =:-O , I also have a real problem with the approved way of doing Double Yarnovers; mine just always look like ugly floppy graceless things that make my teeth hurt just to look at them,
SO,
what I do, and what you might or might not want to try, is to give the thread ((I use Size 10 cotton crochet thread…)) one twist one way, for the first YO, and then one turn in the opposite direction for the second YO. Depending on which way it’s done, the connecting thread either lays to the front, or to the back, depending on which goes best with one’s design.
Sort of like:this:
_0_____0_ (string in front, loops de-emphasized)
or …O………O… (string in back, loops Emphasized)
if that makes any sense.
ANYWAY, when the time comes to do the “wrong side”, and again depending upon which way the loops are twisted, Purl one then Purl the second through the BACK,
OR
Purl the first through the BACK, then Purl the first
as indicated by the twist of the loops.
That way, BOTH loops of the Yarn-Over use the same stitch, as opposed to having one knit and one purled.
I’m trying this with first, bringing D to the back, and then in the 3rd row, bringing D to the front;
but also, with no twist.
I can’t send a photo, but if needed, I can do and scan a drawing….
I hope you and/or someone has fun with this!
Thank you for your experience! It’s always pretty great reading how other people do things and experiment with their knitting. It’s a great way to learn.
Here’s some more grist for your mill in reference to double YOs: https://gannetdesigns.com/2019/01/07/working-double-yos-on-the-next-row-redux/