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By Jenny Hart

Shoulder Shaping – Short Rows
Stocking Stitch Instructions
Divide the number of stitches on the shoulder by three.

Right hand side (right side facing) – knit across stitches, turn.

  • Purl two thirds of the number of sts, wrap the next st (slip 1 stitch purl-wise, yarn back, slip 1 stitch back to the left hand needle, yarn forward), turn.
  • Knit back to last 3 stitches, k2 together, k1. Note: This is the neck edge.
  • Purl one third of stitches, wrap next st, turn.
  • Knit back to last 3 stitches, k2 together, k1.
  • Purl across all stitches, working wrap and the wrapped stitch together (lift the wrap onto the left hand needle and knit together with the main stitch through the back loops).
  • Do not cast off.

Reverse for the left side

Right side of left shoulder shaping with wraps and wrapped stitches knitted together
Wrong side of left shoulder shaping before the wraps are knitted with the wrapped stitch

Left hand side (wrong side facing) – purl across stitches, turn.

  • Knit two thirds of the number of stitches, wrap the next st (slip 1 stitch knit-wise, yarn forward, slip 1 stitch back to the left hand needle, yarn back), turn.
  • Purl back – at the neck edge try the p2tog through the back of the loops (neater).
  • Knit one third of the sts, wrap next st, turn
  • Purl back to last 3 sts, p2 together through back of loops, p1.
  • Knit across all stitches, working wrap and wrapped stitch together.

Cast off each shoulder using the three needle cast off. 

 

Completed shoulder shaping and cast off – a lovely smooth finish
Three needle cast off

Three Needle Cast Off
Excellent strong cast off for shoulders

  • Place the right sides of the front and back shoulders together
  • Holding the two needles of stitches parallel in the left hand, knit 1 stitch from each needle as one stitch.
  • Knit 1 stitch from each needle as above. Lift the first stitch over the second casting off 1 stitch.

 

 

Back of Neck Shaping

Shaping at the back of the neck deserves more attention. Look at any fabric garment and the back of neck is slightly scooped for comfort.

  • A good rule of thumb is to allow 40% of the total number of body stitches for the neck opening, half each for the front and back neck. eg, if the body of your garment has 180 stitches, allow 36 sts each for the front and back of neck.
  • A reduction of a total of 3 stitches on either side of the neck edge of the shoulder shaping will be enough for the garment to fit neatly at the back of the neck.

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