To knit SSK you need to get your head around slipping stitches.
And when I first saw this and learned the intricacies it felt like I was cheating, as I thought ‘if you’re slipping stitches you’re not actually knitting them!’
What I discovered from practicing a few times, is that you’re actually using stitches from the previous row to create a decrease.
So it makes more sense.
You could have done a backwards k2tog on the previous row and you’d have the same effect… but a backwards k2tog is uncomfortable and far too complicated.
SSK lightens your load as a knitter…. and that’s always a good thing, right?
The next best thing to waving a wand to knit an elf hat, is always going to be finding the cheat’s way (or the easy route) when you’re knitting. 😀