How to 'shift' a stitch to keep rows in a line?

[ElleWoman]

I have a great pattern but it talks about 'shiting' a stitch. I understand why i.e. to keep the rows in a straight line, like up the back of a doll leg but I can't figure how to do it. It mentions moving the stitch marker to the left but I still have no clue what to do to the stitch?

[Granny Square]

It is telling you to change the stitch that is considered the first stitch of a round, 1 stitch to the left, by moving the marker.  So the stitch and all it's neighbors are all in the same place, you don't do anything to them. 

It is just a way to renumber the stitches, meaning how you count them from this point forward, but they are all there, in the same order, in the same place.  Example if it then tells you to change colors in the 5th stitch of the round, that stitch was not the fifth one before you moved the marker, but now it is.  

[ElleWoman]

Thank you. So you literally just move the stitch marker to the left and count as the first stitch?

 

[Granny Square]

Yes, you count the stitch that it is now marking as the 'new' first stitch, and the 'old' first stitch now is in some other position than 'first'.

It is not a super common thing to happen, but it does come up now and then in different forms. 

Example, I've seen vintage doilies (made center out, same side facing) have you end a round, turn, slip stitch in the other direction for a few stitches, turn, and start the next round in that new spot, because the lace pattern requires that 'offset' to work right.  This is a little different because you are actually physically doing something to change the round start, not just the marker, but just another illustration that the position of the first stitch of something in the round doesn't necessarily have to stay on top of all the other first stitches of the rounds below.