Dec4 (Double Right-Lean Plus Centred)
Dec4 — a four-stitch decrease — combines a centred double decrease with an additional decrease to reduce four stitches to one. Used for very fast crown shaping in hats and rapid finishing in lace patterns.
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Method (one common variant)
Slip 2 stitches together as if to k2tog. Slip the next stitch knitwise. Slip the slipped stitch back to the left needle. K3tog (the two slipped stitches and the next stitch). Pass the first slipped stitch over.
When to use
Crown decreases at the very top of a hat (the last 4–8 stitches before pulling the tail through). Lace patterns with rapid stitch reduction at the top of a motif. Mitre patterns where four corners meet at one point.
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Visual
A clean centred decrease with a noticeable but not jarring line above. The top stitch dominates and the four original stitches collapse symmetrically below.
Limitations
Difficult to work cleanly — the multiple slips and passes are easy to muddle. Practice on a swatch before relying on Dec4 in a project.
Abbreviation reference
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Dec4 | four-stitch decrease |
| k3tog | knit three together |
| s2kp | slip 2 together knitwise, k1, pass 2 slipped over |
Tips
- Use Dec4 for rapid crown shaping at the top of a hat.
- Work slowly and check stitch count after each Dec4 — the multi-step motion is easy to mis-execute.
- For more visible centred shaping, use s2kp on every other row instead.
In depth
Four-stitch decreases are rare in everyday knitting but invaluable for the few situations where rapid stitch reduction is needed. The hat-crown finish and the centre of mitred squares are the two most common applications.