Article Understanding Knitting Abbreviations

“To be honest the more I learnt to understand abbreviations the easier following and understanding them actually was plus it also meant my project turned out fitting to the correct size I had wanted to create as well. A great benefit I must add ….”

Abbreviations And Their Meanings;

Please Note: I have written the abbreviation, followed by its meaning.in black.

“ When you see Single quotes used they are used to abbreviate the word inch or inches. 2” is equal to the word two inches.

* When you see an asterisk written it means that this is where you repeat the work described in the pattern followed after the * asterisk sign. Example; meaning that you will * K2, P4, PSSO kw,* four times. That direction and abbreviation means that you will knit two stitches, pearl 4 stitches passing the next stitch over knit wise on your needle and repeating these directions four times.

** When you encounter a parentheses of a set of asterisks surrounding a portion of instructions, you repeat the instructions between the ** as many times as indicated in the pattern directly after them.

( ) When you read and encounter parentheses, you need to repeat the instructions between the ( ) as many times as it is indicated directly after them.

[ ]; When you encounter brackets, you will repeat the instructions between the brackets as many times as indicated directly after them.

alt; An abbreviation for the word alternate.

approx; An abbreviation for the word approximately.

beg; An abbreviation for the word (s) begin or beginning.

bet; An abbreviation for the word between.

bo; an abbreviation for the word bind off.

cc or CC; an abbreviation for the word Contrast colour.

cm; an abbreviation for centimetres.

cn; an abbreviation for the word cable needle.

cf; cable front. Cable stitches to the front.

cb; cable back. Cable stitches to the back.

co; an abbreviation and direction for the word cast on, letting you know how many stitches you need to cast on for your project.

cont; abbreviation for the direction and word meaning to continue.

dec; abbreviation for the word decrease, to decrease your stitches.

dpn or dpns; double point (ed) needle or needles.

fl; front loops.

foll ; An abbreviation for follow, follows, following.

frog or frogging; the act of unravelling or tearing out your crochet or knitting.

gst/garter stitch; fabric is created when you knit every single row. the result is a ridged surface.

inst; an abbreviation for instruction or instructions.

K k2tog; abbreviation and direction meaning to knit two together.

ktbl; an abbreviation and direction meaning to knit through the back loop.

ktfl; an abbreviation and direction meaning to knit through the front loop.

kw/knit wise; is an abbreviation and a direction meaning that you crochet or knit from the font of your project in a xeroxing direction. An example holding your needle and knitting the stitch in a knit wise direction.

lh; left handed or left hand.

lp & lps; abbreviation for the word loops.

m; meter.

M1 & m1; make one.

mc; main colour.

cc; contrasting colour.  or k; abbreviation and or direction knit (knit your stitches/garter

mm; millimeter.

ndle or ndls; needle or needles .

oz; abbreviation for the word ounce.

p up ; pick up. Direction to pick up stitches.

p or p; purl.

p2 tog; an abbreviation and or direction meaning to purl two stitches together.

pat & patt; abbreviations for patterns.

pm ; place marker.

pop; abbreviation for popcorn.

pr; abbreviation meaning previous round.

prev; abbreviation for the word previous.

psso; An abbreviation for pass slipped stitch over. This action is usually taken after you have slipped a stitch and then worked one or more stitches following that slipped stitch. You will then pass the slipped stitch(es) over the stitch(es) to the left and off of the tip of the right needle. Passing slipped stitches over creates a left slanting decrease in your work. As an example, we will consider the following sample instructions: sl st, k1, psso.

After you have slipped one stitch from the left needle to the right needle and knit one stitch to follow it, you will be ready to pass the slipped stitch over. Simply insert your left needle tip into the slipped stitch from left to right.

tbl; An abbreviation for purl through back loop. For this instruction, you will pass your right needle through the back side of the next stitch from left to right. You will then complete the purl stitch as usual.

pwise; An abbreviation for purlwise. This is less of a technique and more of a direction. It just indicates the side from which you will hold your needle ready to attack. In this case, you will be approaching from back to front, as you do when purling a stitch.

The back side of your fabric is the side where any action will happen purlwise. If your instructions (or the voices in your head) tell you to do something purlwise, then you will simply insert your right needle tip into the next stitch as if you were going to complete a purl stitch.

R and r; Abbreviations for the word row.

rem; An abbreviation for remain or remaining.

rep; An abbreviation for the word repeat.

rev st or rev st st; An abbreviation for reverse stockinette stitch. Reverse stockinette fabric is created by beginning with a purl row and then alternating knit and purl rows.

rh; An abbreviation for right hand or righthand.

rnd and rnds; Abbreviations for round and rounds.

rs; An abbreviation for right side. This indicates the side of your knitting that will face outward when the project is complete.

sk; An abbreviation for the word skip.

sk2p; An abbreviation for slip, k2tog, psso.

skp; An abbreviation for slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over.

sl; An abbreviation for slip.

sl st; An abbreviation for slip(ped) stitch. Slipping a stitch means to move it from the left needle to the right without working it. A stitch may be slipped knitwise or purlwise. If the directions do not specify, the default direction is purlwise. Insert right needle through next stitch as if to purl. Slip stitch off of left needle.

sl1k; An abbreviation for slip one knitwise. This means you will insert your right needle into the next stitch as if to knit it, but then you will slip it off of the left needle without working it at all.

sl1pAn abbreviation for slip one purlwise. This means you will insert your right needle into the next stitch as if to purl it, but then you will slip it off of the left needle without working it at all.

sssk; An abbreviation for slip, slip, slip, knit. This is executed in the same way as the ssk. The only difference is that you slip a third stitch before you complete the knit. Completing a sssk creates a double decrease that leans to the left.

st st; An abbreviation for Stockinette stitch.

st and sts; Abbreviations for stitch and stitches.

tbl; An abbreviation for through back loop. (See ktbl or ptbl for more information).

tfl; An abbreviation for through front loop.

tog; An abbreviation for together.

we/WE; An abbreviation and direction meaning to for work even.

ws/WS; An abbreviation for wrong side. This is standard terminology for the side of the project that will face inward or may not be seen. On a sweater, it would be the interior. On a bedspread, it would be the side that faces down towards the bed.

wyib; An abbreviation for with yarn in back. When you see this direction, you will want to have your working yarn hanging down the backside of your knitting, as it does when you are making knit stitches.

wyif; An abbreviation for with yarn in front. When you see this direction, you will want to have your working yarn hanging down the front of your knitting, as it does when you are making purl stitches.

ybk; An abbreviation for yarn back. When you see this instruction, you will want to bring your working yarn from the front of the work to the back, making sure that it passes under the needle tips. See wyib for an illustration.

yd and yds; common abbreviations for yard and yards. When a pattern calls for approx 5 yds of waste yarn, it means you will need approximately five yards of waste yarn to complete the instructions.

yfwd; An abbreviation for yarn forward. When you see this instruction, you will want to bring your working yarn from the back of the work to the front, making sure that it passes under the needle tips. It’s as simple as that! See wyif for an illustration.

yo; An abbreviation for yarn over. To complete a yarn over, you will 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 the needle tips.

After doing so, you will continue to knit as the pattern indicates. If you were working knit stitches, for example, you will see that when you bring your yarn to the front and complete the next knit stitch, an extra strand of yarn will now lie over the needle. This is the result of the yarn over.

yon; An abbreviation for yarn over needle. This is conducted by passing the yarn from the back of the work to the front (or from the front to the back) and laying it across the top of the needle as opposed to between/under the needle tips as in a yarn forward.

yrn; An abbreviation for yarn around needle. This is completed the same way as a yarn over (yo).

““Well, that is all that I have listed here for you all at the moment, I do hope you find them useful to reference back to and or also learn so you understand the written pattern abbreviations used in patterns today.

Enjoy!, Carey.