Wrong Side Decreases in Knitted Lace

In last week’s Lace Knitting vs. Knitted Lace, we learned that Knitted Lace has patterning on every row, i.e. it is a knitted fabric where the yarn over holes are made on every row.

In both Lace Knitting and Knitted Lace, the yarn overs are often paired with some type of compensating decrease; e.g. k2tog and ssk are common single decreases made on Right Side rows.

Since Lace Knitting alternates rows containing patterning rows (yarn overs and compensating decreases) with rows of plain knitting (knits and/or purls), knowing how to make decreases on the Right Side is all that is needed.

But in Knitted Lace that is worked flat in rows back and forth, knowing how to make decreases on the alternate (Wrong Side) rows that are the counterparts of those used on Right Side rows is required, such as in this month’s Spiraling Diamonds pattern. Fortunately, most decreases used on Wrong Side rows are pretty straight forward and ones you probably already have used before:

Of these, there is one Wrong Side decrease used in Spiraling Diamonds that you might not have encountered before. It is ssp (slip, slip, purl). The ssp decrease will result in a right-leaning decrease when viewed from the Right Side of the fabric and will look like an ssk that was done on the Right Side. Check the SSP Technique article here at KnitHeartStrings.com for a review of the steps.

On the other hand, Knitted Lace that is knitted in rounds  (i.e. circular knitting) has similar advantages to Lace Knitting because knowing how to make decreases on the Right Side is all that is needed. If you like the look of Knitted Lace but don’t yet want to tackle a large project where there is lace patterning on every row, I recommend choosing a project knitted circularly. Some popular HeartStrings pattern suggestions of this type are Flared Lace Smoke Ring, Silk Smoke Ring, and Sunset Wrap.