Knitting Abbreviation Glossary
When learning how to knit, it’s commonly understood that you’ll be learning new skill and craft. You’ll combine stitches together to create a final product and you’ll probably grow a collection of yarn and knitting needles that slowly takes over your house.
Less commonly known is that when you join the knitting community, you’ll also grow in your vocabulary. There are countless terms that are knitting specific, and of course those terms also have their own abbreviations that you’ll see across the internet and embedded in knitting patterns.
My mission is to help beginners feel comfortable in expanding their skills and learning how to knit. With this in mind, I’ve compiled a list of the 30 most common knitting terms and abbreviations so that you can save this post and come back to reference it.
(Bonus: at the bottom you’ll find a link to download a printable version of the list to save to your phone, or print out for easy access).
15 Essential Knitting Terms (and their abbreviations)
Cast On (CO): Adding stitches to your knitting needles before starting to knit.
Bind Off (BO) / Cast Off: Finishing your knit work by removing stitches from the needles and creating a finished edge.
Stitches (Sts): Each loop on your knitting needles that you knit one at a time.
Row: The width of your knitting, created by the number of stitches on your needle.
Gauge: Measuring the number of stitches and number of rows per inch. Used to help determine the measurements of your final product.
(Usually measured in 4” x 4”)WIP: Work in Progress
Frogging: Unraveling your stitches and rows.
Blocking: Usually done by getting the project wet and laying it flat to dry in the desired dimensions of your final product. This helps the stitches relax.
Weight: Yarn weight refers to the thickness of the yarn that you’re using. It ranges from 1-7, or lace weight to super bulky weight.
Knit (K): Knit Stitch is the most basic way to knit.
Purl (P): Purl stitch is the second most common stitch.
Knit Two Together (K2tog): A decrease in knitting where you knit two stitches together as if knitting one. Results in fewer stitches on your needle.
Slip Slip Knit (SSK): Also a decrease but accomplished by slipping two stitches knit wise to your right needle and then knitting them together.
Right Side (RS): The front side of your knitting that is meant to look correct and show off on your final product.
Wrong Side (WS): The back of your project that is not meant to be seen as much.
As promised, here is the link to download a PDF version of this list. You can save it on your phone or keep it on your Pinterest board…or even print it out for reference.
I hope this is helpful for you on your knitting journey. I’d love to hear from you in the comment or over on social media.
Happy Knitting!
Caroline
