Knitting Abbreviations - Types of Knitting Abbreviations

Types of Knitting Abbreviations

Knitting abbreviations can be grouped by what they describe:

  • side of work
RS and WS signify the "right side" and "wrong side" of the work.
  • type of stitch
k means a knit stitch and p means a purl stitch. Thus, "k2, p2", means "knit two stitches, purl two stitches". Similarly, sl st describes a slip stitch, whereas yarn-overs are denoted with yo.
  • scope of stitch
The modifier tog indicates that the stitches should be knitted together, e.g., "k2tog" indicates that two stitches should be knitted together as though they were one stitch. psso means "pass the slipped stitch over". pnso means "pass the next stitch over".
  • orientation of stitch
The modifier tbl indicates that stitches should be knitted through the back loop. For example, "p2tog tbl" indicates that two stitches should be purled together through the back toop. kwise and pwise connote "knitwise" and "purlwise", usually referring to a slip stitch.
  • insertion point of stitch
k-b and k1b mean "knit into the row below". Similarly, p-b and p1b mean "purl into the row below".
p tbl; P1 tbl; or P1b: Purl through the back loop.
  • short combinations of stitches
MB means "make bobble". ssk means "slip, slip, knit", i.e., the decrease "slip two stitches knitwise individually, then knit them together through the back loop". skp is another decrease, meaning "slip, knit, pass the slipped stitch over the just knitted stitch". (As an aside, both of these decreases are equivalent to the simpler "k2tog tbl".)
  • repetition of stitches
Patterns of stitches that should be repeated for as many stitches as possible are enclosed in asterisks *...*. For example, "*k2,p2*" means "repeatedly knit two stitches, purl two stitches as long as possible, i.e., until there are fewer than four stitches left in the row". alt stands for "alternately".
  • position of yarn
wyib and wyif mean "with yarn in back" and "with yarn in front", respectively. Used primarily with slipped stitches.
  • beginnings and endings
BO and CO mean "bind off" and "cast on", respectively.
  • overall pattern
St st, rev St st and g st signify "stockinette stitch", "reverse stockinette stitch" and "garter stitch", respectively.
  • cable instructions
LT and RT signify "left twist" and "right twist", respectively. FC and LC indicate "front cross" or "left cross" (the same thing), whereas BC and RC indicate "back cross" or "right cross" (again the same thing).
  • color changes
MC means "main color"; CC means "contrasting color".
  • decreases
k2tog indicates two stitches should be knitted together as one, used for making decreases in a row.
  • increases
m1 means "make one stitch". kfb or pfb means "knit or purl into the front and back of a stitch".
  • positional abbreviations
rem means "remaining". foll means "following". beg means "beginning". cont means "continue". incl means "including".

Read more about this topic:  Knitting Abbreviations

Famous quotes containing the words types of, types and/or knitting:

    “Science is intimately integrated with the whole social structure and cultural tradition. They mutually support one other—only in certain types of society can science flourish, and conversely without a continuous and healthy development and application of science such a society cannot function properly.”
    —Talcott Parsons (1902–1979)

    “As for types like my own, obscurely motivated by the conviction that our existence was worthless if we didn’t make a turning point of it, we were assigned to the humanities, to poetry, philosophy, painting—the nursery games of humankind, which had to be left behind when the age of science began. The humanities would be called upon to choose a wallpaper for the crypt, as the end drew near.”
    —Saul Bellow (b. 1915)

    “your antlers like seaweed,
    your face like a wolf’s death mask,
    your mouth a virgin, your nose a nipple,
    your legs muscled up like knitting balls,
    your neck mournful as an axe....”
    —Anne Sexton (1928–1974)