COMMON KNITTING ABBREVIATIONS

The most common abbreviations for knitting patterns are included here, in a convenient one-stop resource. It’s a good idea to keep a copy in your knitting basket (or snap a photo of the chart) for quick reference—at least until you’ve mastered the shorthand and it becomes second nature (which it will, so keep at it). And remember, when you see an asterisk (*), that means to repeat that step or series of steps across a row.

alt

Alternate

approx

Approximately

beg

Begin or beginning

bet

Between

BO

Bind off

CC

Contrast color

cm

Centimeter

cn

Cable needle

CO

Cast on

cont

Continue

dec

Decrease

DK

Double knit

dpn or dpns

Double-pointed needle or needles

fl

Frontloop

foll

Follow

frogging

The act of unraveling or tearing out knitting

g

Garter stitch (created from knitting every single row, resulting in a ridged surface)

inc

Increase

K

Knit

k2tog

Knit two stitches together

ktbl

Knit through back loop

kwise

Knitwise (which indicates the side from which you will hold your needle)

LH

Left hand

lp or lps

Loop(s)

m

Meter

M1

Make one stitch

MC

Main color

ndl or ndls

Needle(s)

P up

Pick up and purl

P

Purl

p2tog

Purl two together (which indicates purling two stitches together as though they were one stitch)

pat or patt

Pattern

pm

Place marker

pr

Previous row or previous round

prev

Previous

psso

Pass slipped stitch over (which indicates that you slipped a stitch and then worked one or more stitches following that slipped stitch)

ptbl

Purl through back loop (which indicates that you pass your right needle through the back side of the next stitch from left to right)

pwise

Purlwise

R & r

Row rem (which means remaining)

rep

Repeat

Rev st st

Reverse stockinette stitch (which is created by beginning with a purl row and then alternating knit and purl rows)

RH

Right hand or righthand

rnd or rnds

Round(s)

RS

Right side

sk

Skip

sk2p

Slip 1 knitwise, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over, decrease, knit 2 together; double left-leaning

skp

Slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over

sl

Slip

sl st

Slip stitch (which means to move it from the left needle to the right without working it)

sl1k

Slip 1 knitwise

sl1p

Slip 1 purlwise

ssk

Slip, slip, knit

sssk

Slip, slip, slip, knit

st or sts

Stitch(es)

St st

Stockinette stitch

tbl

Through back loop

tfl

Through front loop

tog

Together

WS

Wrong side (which indicates the side of the project that will face inward or may not be seen)

wyib

With yarn in back (which indicates that working yarn should hang down the backside of your knitting)

wyif

With yarn in front

yb

Yarn back (which indicates that working yarn should be brought from the front of the work to the back, passing under needle tips)

yfwd

Yarn forward (which indicates that working yarn should be brought from the back of the work to the front, passing under the needle tips)

yo

Yarn over (which indicates to bring your yarn from back to front—if it was initially in the back—or from front to back—if it was initially in the front—under needle tips. After doing so, continue to knit as the pattern indicates)

yo2

Yarn over twice

yon

Yarn over needle (which indicates to pass the yarn from the back of the work to the front—or from the front to the back—and lay it across the top of the needle as opposed to between/under needle tips as in a yarn forward)

yrn

Yarn round needle (which indicates the same instruction as yarn over)

Tip

A stockinette stitch (ST ST), among the most basic of all stitch patterns, is formed by knitting alternating rows of knit (plain) stitches and purl stitches, making each stitch on different sides of the fabric (so knit on right side, purl on back, or vice versa).