The Nine Days of Knitting - Tutorial and Knitalong - Day 2

Welcome back, KNITTERS!  Today is Day 2 of our Nine Days of Knitting.  Are you ready to put your new knowledge to work for you in a whole new way?  Cool - let's go!

Our next new stitch is knit 2 together (k2tog).  It goes like this - instead of  sliding the working needle through just one stitch, you will slide it through 2 (see the 2 loops in the photo?).  I know, I know. Radical stuff.  But, you already know how to knit, so you'll catch onto this pretty easily.

So, our pattern for the next roughly 60" is as follows:

K2, yo, k2tog, k across

Relax - it's ok.  Think back to yesterday's post, where we learned the abbreviations for knitting stitches.  K is knit, so knit 2 stitches.  Yo is yarn over, so yarn over.  K2tog is our new one for the day, so knit 2 together.  After that, you'll knit across the rest of the row.

Ok, so now I have to make you do some math.  I know, I'm sorry.  It's simple math, though.  Yesterday, we learned that the yarn over made an extra stitch.  Well, we've reached the number of stitches we want, so we have to offset that increase somehow.  The yo is a "make one" and the k2tog is a "take one".  Or plus one, minus one.  Whichever works for you.  It's Monday after all!

This is what your scarf will look like after a few inches:

See how we've made a point for the end of our scarf, and now we are making straight sides?  Pretty amazing, huh?!  That's the purpose of the yo - k2tog combo.  Kinda fun to see it in action.

So here's our goal for today.  Keep working in pattern (K2, yo, k2tog, k across), until you've added 10 more inches.  You can do it!  This is what your scarf will look like at 10":

Remember it's 10" from the corner where we started working in today's pattern.  Also, be sure to keep count of your stitches - make sure you've got 33, and to paraphrase one of my favorite movies - My Cousin Vinnie - AND ONLY 33 STITCHES.  It's really easy to work past that k2tog.  If that should happen to you, and you find yourself at 34 or even 35 stitches, just add an extra k2tog the next row, preferable somewhere in the middle of the row.  Remember, it's a decrease, so that should bring your stitch total back down to where it should be.

Happy stitching and see you tomorrow for day 3!