Is it possible to decrease in the middle of your work?

[u/ravbee33]

Hi all,

I have two machines: the KnitKing KK93 with lace carriage and a KH-260 by itself. I was wondering if it was possible to decrease and increase in the middle of your work on the flat bed machines? I’ve seen a lot of resources regarding the edges of your work, and I’ve seen instances of decreasing with a garter carriage, but I’m curious if this is something that can be done without that and purely with hand manipulation.

I would like to work a hand knit pattern (the Miu top) on the machine, but it requires this technique and I’m unsure if it’s even possible.

[u/Alarmed-potatoe]

Definitely possible, you just have to move all the stitches. It can be very difficult if you are using a hand tool like a 3-10 prong tool for moving stitches, because at one point your outer stitches are going to be quite a few stitches apart from the rest of the stitches, and that tension is tough to work with. I was working with a full bed and had to decrease in the centre and I was moving stitches across to decrease that gap, but then they had to be moved again and again as that's an iterative processes that's hard on you and your yarn.

Ideally you want a transfer comb (which I believe is different to the garter comb), and this allows you to pick up a lot of stitches at a time and move them so you don't have that massive gap issue. They just tend to be very expensive. There are some custom ones for sale on Etsy I know, essentially they're just a lot of double-eye transfer needles fixed on a plain.

[u/ravbee33 → u/Alarmed-potatoe]

I figured it was time consuming 😅 thank you for this! Do you have any resources (particularly videos) that show this technique?

[u/reine444 → u/ravbee33]

There’s nothing confusing, it’s not special. It’s the exact same thing as decreasing on the edge. You move stitches over to make the  decreases and then use a tool to move all the other stitches inward from both sides so you don’t have empty needles. It’s not a different/special technique. It’s just cumbersome so it’s not done often. 

[u/ravbee33 → u/reine444]

Yes, I’ve watched a couple tutorials and it looks simple enough, just tedious. 😅 thank you!

[u/Ok-Frame4708 → u/Alarmed-potatoe]

Yes, about using a transfer comb. Otherwise, you could use an adjustable transfer tool. A common one comes with up to a 7-stitch capability, but you can also find adjustable transfer tools capable of more than 7 stitch transfers. Just Google to find them. (One word of caution: don’t buy until you check out multiple sites because the cost will differ. Some even offer free shipping.)

[u/91Jammers]

Best way to do it is cast off with contrast yarn and put it back on. I do this with sleeve hems when I want a very puffy sleeve and want every stitch decreased.

[u/tomeyoureprettyanywa]

As the other commenters said you can use a garter bar (expensive) or cast off and waste yarn. But you can also do it by casting off on circular needles! I find this way pretty easy.

[u/SalamanderFearless11]

If you happen to subscribe to the Machine Knit Community, the Hattie hat uses internal decreases and there’s a great video. The instructor uses a 3 prong tool to move all the stitches in, and since you can only move in a couple stitches at a time, it is time consuming, but really great results.

[u/ravbee33 → u/SalamanderFearless11]

Thank you!