Double decreases, redux

A while ago I was dithering about what abbreviation to use for the double decrease that’s a mirror of slip 1, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over. It’s not a commonly-used stitch; I suspect because it’s fiddly.  I have my fussy moments when it comes to symmetry.

From left to right: DSD, sk2p, CDD, k3tog, sssk

You might or might not have noticed, but I’ve settled into using DSD, which stands for Double Slip Decrease. I asked about possible abbreviations in a number of places on Ravelry, but this recommendation came from Annie Maloney, who also designs stitch patterns which I admire very much. Anyway, she uses DSD because Barbara Abbey came up with the name Double Slip Decrease for this decrease. I decided to go with this because it makes sense to me to try to be consistent with the few people I’ve encountered who also use this decrease.

These are the five double decreases you’ll encounter in my stitch patterns, complete with their abbreviations. I’ve put the symmetrical pairs next to each other.

  • DSD: double slip decrease. Ssk (or k2tog tbl). Slip stitch back to left needle. Pass next stitch over. Slip stitch back to right needle. (Substitute k3tog if desired.) Right-leaning decrease.
  • sk2p: slip 1 knitwise, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over. Left-leaning decrease.
  • CDD: centered double decrease. Slip 2 together as if to k2tog. Knit one. Pass slipped stitches over. (This has a mirror, but it’s far too subtle to bother.)
  • k3tog: knit 3 stitches together as if if they were one. Right-leaning decrease.
  • sssk: slip each of the next 3 stitches knitwise, then knit those 3 together through the back loop. (Substitute sk2p if desired.) Left-leaning decrease.