Where to work the Next Sleeve Decrease

I have a pet peeve. I don’t like seeing knitters mark little ticks on their patterns to keep track of the rounds they have worked. If you can learn to read your knitting you can be tick-free (pun intended).

Right now I’m knitting a sleeve in the round from the should down to the wrist. My sleeve shaping instructions are as follows:

Knit 7 rounds.

Decrease Round 8: K1, SSK, knit to last 2 sts, K2tog.  (SSK: Slip as if to knit, slip next stitch as if to knit, insert Left needle into fronts of 2 slipped sts and knit them together)

Repeat last 8 rounds.

I'm decreasing every 8th round.

The decrease I keep track of is the SSK since it’s easier to see. When you complete Round 8, the decrease you just worked sits below the new stitch you just made as you knit 2 sts together which is sitting on the needle. The Round 8 stitch is on the needle and the decrease sits just below it. Maybe the photo works better for you.

I’m going to do the next set of decreases on the next Round 8. You can count the rounds I've knit. A knit stitch looks like a "V". I'm counting the column of stitches above the SSK.

 Round 8 + Rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7. Now on the next round, Round 8, I'll do another set of decreases.

That's the explanation but it's not how I actually count the rounds. When I look at my knitting and this photo, I can see 8 knit rounds (column of "V's") above the obvious SSK. All I've done is renumber the rounds. The number of knitted rounds is the same as the photo above. In fact it's the same photo with the rounds counted differently.

When I can see and count 8 rounds above the obvious SSK (including the stitch on the needle), I work my Decrease Round on the next round.

I worked the Decrease Round. If I count the rounds I can see above the bottom SSK, there is a new SSK on the 8th round. It works.

If you need to decrease every Round 8. Knit around until you can SEE 8 rounds above the last SSK (including the round on the needle) then work your Decrease Round. If you need to decrease every 6th round, count 6 rounds above the last SSK and do the decrease round.

I'm almost sure you don't believe me but this totally works. The rounds are easy to see and count and I never, ever go wrong on my sleeve decreases using this method. OK, almost never, except during a really interesting movie. No ticks, no mistakes. Would I steer you wrong?

-Deb

P.S. I like the idea of a "collection" CathyK. Nice.
Robebe: Giving away yarn that someone else is going to work on and give to charity sounds like an excellent plan to me.