Knitting Stitch Guide

Quick reference

Stitch/technique	Abbr.	What it does
Knit	k	The base stitch; smooth "V" on the right side
Purl	p	The base stitch; bumpy horizontal ridge on the right side
Yarn over	yo	Increase; leaves a small eyelet hole
Knit 2 together	k2tog	Right-leaning decrease
Slip slip knit	ssk	Left-leaning decrease (mirrors k2tog)
Knit front and back	kfb	Increase; leaves a small bump
Make one	M1	Increase; nearly invisible

Knit (k)

1. Insert the right needle into the front of the first stitch on the left needle, going left to right.
2. Wrap the working yarn counterclockwise around the right needle.
3. Pull that wrap through the stitch, forming a new loop on the right needle.
4. Slide the old stitch off the left needle.
Knit stitches worked on every row produce garter stitch; knit stitches on the right side alternated with purl on the wrong side produce stockinette, the smooth "V"-patterned fabric most sweaters use.

Purl (p)

1. With the yarn held in front of your work, insert the right needle into the front of the first stitch, going right to left (the opposite direction from knit).
2. Wrap the working yarn counterclockwise around the right needle.
3. Pull that wrap back through the stitch.
4. Slide the old stitch off the left needle.
A purl stitch is a knit stitch worked from the other side — the bump you see on the right side of a purl stitch is the same loop that looks like a smooth "V" from the other side of the fabric.

Yarn Over (yo)

Wrap the working yarn over the right needle before working the next stitch, rather than into an existing stitch. That wrap becomes a brand new stitch on the next row, increasing your stitch count by one and leaving a visible hole where the yarn didn't cross over any existing fabric — the building block of virtually all knitted lace.

Knit 2 Together (k2tog)

Insert the right needle through 2 stitches at once (instead of 1), then knit them together as if they were a single stitch. The resulting stitch leans to the right, which is why patterns pair it with ssk on the opposite edge for a symmetrical decrease, like on either side of a raglan seam.

Slip Slip Knit (ssk)

1. Slip 2 stitches, one at a time, knitwise onto the right needle (without working them).
2. Insert the left needle into the front of both slipped stitches at once.
3. Knit them together.
The result is a decrease that leans left, mirroring k2tog exactly — the two are almost always used as a matched pair rather than interchangeably.

Knit Front and Back (kfb)

1. Knit into the front of the next stitch as normal, but don't slide the old stitch off the left needle yet.
2. Knit into the back loop of that same stitch.
3. Now slide the old stitch off.
One stitch becomes two, but the technique leaves a small horizontal bump at the base of the new stitch — fine for an edge that will be seamed or hidden, more noticeable in the middle of visible fabric.

Make One (M1)

1. Insert the left needle from front to back under the horizontal strand of yarn running between the stitch just worked and the next stitch.
2. Knit into the back of that lifted strand.
Because M1 is worked in the gap between two stitches rather than into an existing stitch, it doesn't use up a stitch of its own and leaves a much less visible increase than kfb — the usual choice when an increase needs to blend in rather than read as a design detail.