78th row. Use steel pins No. 12; you ought to have now 220 stitches. Decrease about every 9th stitch by pearling 2 together, so as to reduce your number of stitches to 192.
74th row *. Bring the wool forward, slip 1, inserting the pin as though you were going to pearl it, knit 2 together; repeat from *. Do 48 rows in this manner. Note that each chain is 2 rows.
123rd row. Knit 54, that is, 18 sets of 3. Leave the other stitches. With a third steel pin, No. 12, knit back on these 54 still with the brioche stitch.
2nd row. Knit 51 (or 17 sets), knit the 3 last together, omitting to bring the wool forward.
3rd row. Slip 1 in the usual way, brioche the rest. You must always decrease at the end in every alternate row for the slope. Of course these decreasings come at the end nearest the middle.
When you have decreased to 42, do 9 rows without decreasings. The body ought at this side to be 68 rows deep; you are at the beginning of a row; leave these stitches now, do not break off the wool.
Take another ball, join the end with a wool needle, work upon the centre 84 stitches; slip the last 54 upon a piece of wool.
Decrease at each end of the 84 until you have only 69, then work without decreasing until this part is the same length as the other. Leave these stitches and break off the wool; take care that the wool is at the right-hand end.
Do the last side to match the first, and then leave the body until the sleeves are ready.
Sleeve.—Cast on 56 with the steel pins No. 12, knit a row, pearl a row, knit a row.