It might seem weird to already be writing about knitting patterns. Especially when I've only JUST posted the Beginners Guide to knitting. But I promise it is a necessary to be able to proceed into the knitting world. Once you know all the abbreviations and terminology, then i can teach you how to integrate them into your knitting.
Before I start in on the abbreviations most commonly used, I need to explain more about how patterns are laid out. The beginning of a pattern starts of with what you need to complete it. This will include: Yarn weight needed (and how many balls), needle size needed, and notions. Notions are other tools you will need to complete your project. These include things like: buttons, sewing needles, stitch markers and cable needles. Some patterns have a guide to make different sizes. This might be present in patterns for clothing items or blankets.
Example (for a sock pattern): 7 (8, 9,10)" finished circumference.
The pattern would start off like this: CO 56 (64, 72, 80) stitches.
So lets say that your desired size is an 8 inch finished circumference, you would cast on 64 stitches.
So now let's jump to the abbreviations. These are by no means all of them! There are hundreds! And sometimes different brands use different abbreviations (they will provide their own guide if this is the case). However, these are the ones I come across most frequently.
Common Abbreviations
* - Repeat from * to * until the end, or until pattern tells you to.
K- Knit
P- Purl
Sl- Slip
BO- Bind off/ Cast off
CO- Cast on
Dec- Decrease
Inc- Increase
DPNs- Double pointed needles
K2tog- Knit two stitches together (a type of decrease)
P2tog- Purl two stitches together (a type of decrease)
KFB- Knit in the front and back loop of a stitch (a type of increase)
PFB- Purl in the front and back look of a stitch (a type of increase)
M- Marker
M1- Make one stitch
M1L- Make one left leaning stitch
M1R- Make one right leaning stitch
PM- Place marker
PSSO- Pass slipped stitch over
PU- Pick up
K-wise- Knit wise
P-wise- Purl wise
Rep- Repeat
SK2P- Slip stitch, knit 2 together, pass slip stitch over
SKP- Slip, knit one, pass slip stitch over
SM- Slip marker
SSK- Slip, slip, knit these two stitches together
SSP- Slip, slip, purl these two stitches together
SSSK- Slip, slip, slip, knit these three stitches together
TBL- Through back loop
TFL- Through front loop
Tog- Together
WE- Work even
WS- Wrong side
RS- Right side
LH- Left hand
RH- Right hand
YO- Yarn over
WYIB- With yarn in back (also written as yb)
WYIF- With yarn in front (also written as yf)
KB1- Knit 1 into back of the stitch
PB1- Purl 1 into back of the stitch
These might not make any sense to you right now, but I will continue to post videos, and they will all make sense soon!
For my next post you will need to familiarize yourself with the Purl stitch!!
Comments