Knitting Abbreviations

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With all the knitting abbreviations, reading a knitting pattern is like reading another language. If you are not familiar with common abbreviations it will look like double dutch to you!

On this page you will find definitions for the most common abbreviations, presented in the order that you are most likely to find them in your pattern.

That means that the most basic abbreviations are at the top and abbreviations for more complex techniques are at the bottom.

Table of Knitting Abbreviations

Abbreviation	Definition
K	Knit
P	Purl
sts	Stitches
rep	Repeat
beg	Beginning
K2 tog	Knit two stitches together
sl 1	Slip the next stitch onto the right hand needle without knitting the stitch.
psso	Pass the slipped stitch over the last stitch on the right hand needle.
alt	Alternate.
dec	Decrease
M1	Make one stitch by picking up and knitting the thread between the stitch on the right hand needle and the stitch on the left hand needle.
tbl	Through the back of the loop.
y bk	Bring the yarn to the back of the work.
y ft or y fwd	Bring the yarn to the front of the work.
yrn or yon	Wrap the yarn around the needle to form a stitch.
foll	Following.
cont	continue.
incl	Including or inclusive.
kfb	Knit front and back
patt	Pattern.
rem	Remaining.
cm	Centimetres.
skp	Slip, knit, pass
ssk	Slip, slip, knit

If you think there are other abbreviations that need to be included on this page, please feel free to drop me a line through my contact page to let me know about it.

Or alternatively if you have come across an abbreviation that you just cannot make head nor tail of, why not pose a question about it on my knitting questions page.

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You might like these

kfb: Knit front and back
kfb or knit front and back is a method of increasing your number of stitches by one and involves knitting into a single stitch twice.
Yarn Over Knitting (YON)
One of the abbreviations that seems to confuse many beginners is the yarn round needle or yarn over knitting abbreviation. The short form of this knitting instruction is YO or YRN.
SKP A Knitting Abbreviation
A common knitting abbreviation you are likely to come across is skp or sl1, k1,psso. Basically this is a method of decreasing 1 stitch with a sloped stitch leaning to the right