Looking at a knitting pattern from first glance can seem like a complex code. I mean seriously... looking at rows upon rows of P1,*K1, P1, repeat from * to last 3 sts, SL1PWYIF, K1, SL1PWYIF can cause panic sweats and an instant migraine if you don't have a reference as to what these abbreviations mean. 

Fortunately, some patterns come with an abbreviation guide, but for those rogue patterns that leave you stranded, we've come up with a handy list of common knit abbreviations that every knitter should know. 

When you first start knitting you tend to start of blind and just barge into it, if you didn’t you are one of the lucky ones for, I know I did. I couldn’t wait to get the wool on my needles find a free pattern and load a YouTube video up on how to do garter stitch and create my first project.

I was fairly lucky for the first three or four projects I did as they all actually turned out, I learnt garter stitch how to purl and how not to rip my hair out frogging my work and sort of followed a pattern. However, on my next project I wasn’t so lucky, and my finished project didn’t turn out as I’d hoped. It was a mess and definitely not to size.

Consequently, it was then that I learned patterns from England & the US don’t always match Australian terminology or abbreviations, lol and I needed to follow and learn more about abbreviations used in crochet and knitting patterns so I could follow the directions of a pattern better and have successful projects turn out.

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

For the new crafters on this site and those just wanting to refresh their knowledge I thought I would do a list of some of the most common abbreviations used in patterns today and their meanings.

Most abbreviations are written in small caps within a pattern however some to can be written in capitals as well it depends on the pattern writer themselves and the country they live in as countries can to often differ slightly their meanings of the abbreviations used in a pattern.

“These are mainly Australian knitting pattern abbreviations that I have listed. I have though included some of the more common abbreviations commonly used in the knitting community that are also used in U.S.A & Australian pattern terms. In the U.K. however different names are used for some of the stitches.

This is also a great print out resource to have as well to refer back to when you need to, weather you use it to learn or just use it as a refresher to refer back to which to is great for those repicking up the craft of knitting after having had a spell from the craft.”

Abbreviations And Their Meanings;

   Please Note: I have written the abbreviation in its documented form as often written in most patterns in the beginning and then followed it with the meaning of the abbreviation or direction you are to follow.

You will see the abbreviation first followed by it's Meaning ....

“ 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.

cc; contrasting 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 or inst; an abbreviation for instruction or instructions.

K or k; abbreviation and or direction knit (knit your stitches/garter stitch)

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 knitwise direction. An example holding your needle and knitting the stitch in a knit wise direction.

KIP or kipping: Knitting in public.

Kitchener Stitch: A method of seaming used to join two pieces of knitting together or to join to ends of the same piece of fabric. This seaming method is often used with stockinette stitch.  

Knitwise (As If to Knit):Often used when talking about slipped stitches or when giving detailed instructions on a particular increase or decrease, this term refers to inserting your working needle in a way that puts the leading leg of your yarn on the right-hand side of your needle.

Lifeline: A piece of yarn or string that is inserted into a previous row to hold those stitches in place in the event that you need to frog your work because of a mistake. They are truly lifesavers.

lh; left handed or left hand.

lp & lps; abbreviation for the word loops.

Linen Stitch: Linen stitch is a great stitch pattern that involves slipping stitches with the working yarn held on the right side of the work. This creates a sort of bumped woven pattern that resembles linen fabric.

Life Line or Live Stitch: A term used to refer to unworked stitches that are still on the needle.
Longtail Cast-On: The longtail cast-on is possibly the most common method of casting on stitches. Most beginner knitters will learn to this cast-on method because of its simplicity, speed, and clean finish on most projects.

Lopapeysa: A style of stranded colorwork that is native to Iceland. Unlike other stranded styles, like Fair Isle, Lopapeysa often uses three or more strands of yarn per row, making it particularly tricky to master but will give you exceptionally colourful patterns with bold lines and shapes. Colorwork motifs in Lopapeysa often include geometric designs and snowflake-like motifs. Traditional Icelandic knit sweaters typically use Lopapeysa style colorwork for the yoke of the sweater.

m; meter.

M1 & m1; make one.

MC or mc; main colour.

MM or mm; millimeter.

Magic Loop: The magic loop method is a clever method of knitting in the round for those of you who don't like DPNs. This ingenious technique uses circular needles in a way that lets you knit the super tiny tubes for things like mittens, socks, and gloves.

Mattress Stitch: The mattress stitch is a remarkably easy seaming stitch that will result in an invisible seam if done correctly. There are many different seaming methods in knitting, but the mattress stitch is by far one of the most popular because it's truly invisible from the right side of your pattern.

ndle or ndls; needle or needles .

Negative Ease: A term used in knitting fitted garments (often sweaters) that refers to either a particular gauge used, or additional stitches added to make the garment righter than the exact measurements.

Niddy Noddy: A twisted H-shaped tool that allows you to easily wind up skeins.

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.

Provisional Cast-On: A method of casting on the cast-on leaves the stitches "live" so you can join the other end of the knitting to it. Often used in projects like infinity scarves.

Portuguese Knitting: A knitting style that involves holding the tension of the yarn around the neck instead of in the knitter's hands. Many knitters find that this style helps them knit faster, especially in purl-heavy patterns. -

Positive Ease: A term used in knitting fitted garments (often sweaters) that refers to either a particular gauge used or additional stitches added to make the garment looser than the exact measurements.

Purlwise (As If to Purl): Often used when talking about slipped stitches or when giving detailed instructions on a particular increase or decrease, this term refers to inserting your working needle in a way that puts the leading leg of your yarn on the left-hand side of your needle.

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.

Stitch: In knitting, a "stitch" can refer to two different things -- individual stitches that are made with the needles and stitch patterns that are formed with various combinations of individual stitches.

Individual Stitch; There are basically two individual stitches in knitting, the knit stitch and the purl stitch. More advanced knitting techniques include variations and combinations of these two stitches, but knitting and purling are at the core of every stitch you will make with your knitting needles. Stitch patterns, on the other hand, come in hundreds of shapes, sizes, and combinations.

Stitch Pattern; Stitch patterns are made up of certain combinations of individual stitches to create an overall more complicated pattern. -

Stockinette Stitch: Typically the second stitch that knitters learn, after garter stitch, that involves knitting the right side rows and purling the wrong side rows.

Stranded Knitting: A method of knitting colorwork wherein the colour not being used is held on the wrong side of the work, creating strands or "floats" in the back.

Selvedge (Selvage): Sometimes also called a slip stitch edge or a structured edge, these techniques involve slipping and working the first and last stitches in each row in a given pattern to create a cleaner looking edge to your fabric. There are several methods of doing this but the most common is to simply slip the first stitch of each row and work the last stitch in pattern. -

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).

Zero Ease: As with positive and negative ease, zero ease refers to the intended or unintended fit of a particular garment. While negative ease indicates that a garment is smaller than the measurements and positive ease indicates a larger, baggier fit, zero ease means that the garment itself matches the measurements exactly.

“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 to use to learn from so you understand the written pattern abbreviations used in patterns today.  You will find there are more as well as you go further into knitting im sure but for now Ive tried to cover the main abbreviations and meanings that you will need as a beginner and an intermediate knitter.

Enjoy!, Carey.

Casz's Country Craft's

PDF Printout download link; Understanding Knitting Abbreviations