V-neck shaped by holding

Machine types that can knit it

• Single bed, punch card
• Single bed, electronic
• Single bed, no patterning
• Single bed (punch card) + ribber
• Single bed (electronic) + ribber
• Double bed with pushers (Passap type)

Steps

1. Knit the front to where the neckline starts.
2. Find the centre front. Push the needles of the side you are not knitting out to holding position (E) and set the carriage to H.
3. The carriage must be on the side you are knitting.
4. With the 3-prong transfer tool, move the edge stitches one needle in, away from the centre. Push the empty needle back to non-working position (A).
5. Knit 2 rows (or as your pattern says), then decrease again. Hang claw weights near the neck edge and move them up as you knit, so stitches do not drop or snag.
6. When the first side is done (in the handout the carriage is on the right), leave the carriage on H. Push the held needles of the other side back slightly, just enough that the yarn does not go back over the latches. Knit 1 row: the carriage crosses and knits them.
7. Push the finished side's needles out to holding position. Knit 1 row; the carriage is back on the right and the second side is ready to shape.
8. Shape the second side the same way, mirrored.
9. Cast off both sides, or take them off on waste yarn for the neckband.

The full card

What it looks like

A clean V neckline with fully-fashioned decreases: a line of slanting stitches that follows the neck edge, a few stitches in from the edge. Both sides of the V mirror each other.

How it behaves

Flat. The fashioned decreases give a firm, neat edge for picking up a neckband [inference].

How it works

One side of the neck is knitted while the needles for the other side wait in holding position. On the knitting side, the neck edge is decreased by moving the edge stitches one needle in with a multi-prong transfer tool every few rows. When the first side is finished, its needles go to hold and the waiting side is brought back to knit.

Machines

A machine with holding position and a hold setting on the carriage (Brother: E position and the H key; Silver Reed: D position). Transfer tool with three prongs. Claw weights. Not on a hand flat without hold: there, knit one side, take the other side off on waste yarn, then rehang it (see neckline-waste-yarn) [inference].

Parameters

Decrease rate from your pattern: the handout example decreases one stitch every 2 rows. Decrease with a 3-prong tool so the slant sits three stitches in from the edge. Centre front = middle needle of the neck, from your pattern.

Steps

1) Knit the front to where the neckline starts. 2) Find the centre front. Push the needles of the side you are not knitting out to holding position (E) and set the carriage to H. 3) The carriage must be on the side you are knitting. 4) With the 3-prong transfer tool, move the edge stitches one needle in, away from the centre. Push the empty needle back to non-working position (A). 5) Knit 2 rows (or as your pattern says), then decrease again. Hang claw weights near the neck edge and move them up as you knit, so stitches do not drop or snag. 6) When the first side is done (in the handout the carriage is on the right), leave the carriage on H. Push the held needles of the other side back slightly, just enough that the yarn does not go back over the latches. Knit 1 row: the carriage crosses and knits them. 7) Push the finished side's needles out to holding position. Knit 1 row; the carriage is back on the right and the second side is ready to shape. 8) Shape the second side the same way, mirrored. 9) Cast off both sides, or take them off on waste yarn for the neckband.

Charting

Bed chart: held needles drawn as hold (H) on the waiting side, the V edge stepping in one needle every 2 rows, with the fashioned transfer marked at each step. Row column notes: "carriage H", "change sides".

Limits and common problems

Carriage on the wrong side when you start → the first row knits nothing or drags yarn across the held side. Pushing held needles back too far → the yarn falls behind the latches and the stitches drop or knit twice. No weights near the neck → stitches pop off. The handout covers only a simple V without shoulder shaping; shape the shoulders with holding too.

Combines with

pk-hold-core, pk-wrap-and-float-control, neckline-waste-yarn, machine-linking (neckband). Neckband for a V on a raglan: mitred band. Round (crew) neck by holding.

Pieces and assembly

Front of a jumper, cardigan or vest. Pick up the neck edge for a rib or folded band; mitre the band at the point of the V.

Related techniques

• Neckline shaped on waste yarn (divide and rehang)
• Folded button stand with waste-yarn buttonholes
• Piped edge (rolled tube trim)
• Machine i-cord (tube cord)
• Linking trims and seams on the knitting machine (no linker)