Wrap up: 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - ...

The Knit 1s are now well into their hat project. Some have even gotten to the point where the decreasing to shape the crown of the hat begins. As the excitement of the completion of the project grows, we now get to a little obstacle. As we decrease the number of stitches on the circular needle, the remaining stitches are no longer able to reach around the needle. There are basically three ways to solve this and the one you choose is simply a matter of personal preference. 

Four Double Pointed Needles - the first method developed for knitting in the round was using four double pointed needles (DPs or DPNs). First, divide the stitches evenly  between three double  pointed needles. If you think about it as if you were using two needles, the fourth needle becomes your second needle for each section. Since you can only use two needles at a time, it's just like regular knitting. You simply knit the stitches off one needle at a time and once this needle becomes empty, use it to knit with the next needle in the circle. The advantage of this method is that as you decrease the number of stitches, you have less stitches on each needle and nothing else changes.

Two Circular Needles - Another way of dealing with decreasing stitch counts is to divide your work evenly on two similar sized circular needles (the lengths can be different). Once the work is on two circulars, you're really at the same point you're at when using 4 DPs - look at each tip of the circulars as a needle. By looking at it this way, the knitting process becomes simple. First, slide the stitches just worked to the nylon on the circular needle. This is your "limbo" or resting area. Now slide the stitches to be worked to the tip of the needle they are on. This is your "working" area. Using the tip of the other circular needle, knit the stitches on your working needle. Now you have all the stitches on one circular with the nylon being pulled between them  (looped) and keeping them separate. This now allows you to use the empty circular needle to knit the next set of stitches and bring you back to where you started. Repeat this process as necessary to get to the end of your project. 

The Magic Loop - this method uses just one circular needle. In it, you simply pull the nylon between the stitches about halfway through your work. The work will now be sitting on the tips of your circulars. Slide the last set of stitches worked to the nylon and work the other set of stitches with the now empty tip of the circular. As you repeat this process, you need to also adjust the nylon by pulling it through the stitches and putting a twist into it so that the stitches don't come together. While this method is a little trickier, it is the most convenient in that you are only using one needle. With a little practice, it may very well become your favorite. See the last diagram of Two Circular Needles for a look at what the Magic Loop looks like.

Happy decreasing!

Yarn over and out,

JAS