| TERM | ABBREV | DEFINITION |
| Aran knitting | a technique of working combinations of stitches and patterns in a solid color (usually white), named after Aran Islands of Ireland | |
| bind off | BO | When a piece of knitting is completed, stitches are removed one by one and locked so that they will not ravel. |
| blocking | the infusion of steam or water into a knitted fabric that causes the strands of the fiber to relax and reshape | |
| cable | a technique in which the order of stitches is changed to create the effect of twisted rope | |
| cast on | CO | the process of creating loops to transition yarn from skein to needles; creating the first row of knitting |
| circular needles | two knitting needle points strung together with a flexible cable | |
| colorwork | knitting involving multiple colors in the same piece | |
| Continental knitting | Knitting technique in which the yarn is held in the left hand; also known as German knitting or picking | |
| decrease | dec | the combining or removal of one or more existing stitches |
| double knitting | DK | a form of knitting in which two fabrics are knit simultaneously with two yarns on one pair of needles |
| double pointed needles | dpn | a group of 4 or 5 knitting needles, each with a point at each end |
| English knitting | knitting technique in which the yarn is held in the right hand; also known as American knitting or throwing | |
| Fair Isle | a specific form of stranded colorwork named for Fair Isle, a small island off the coast of Scotland | |
| felting | a process by which knitted wool is soaked in hot water to shrink and tighten the fibers and create a dense fabric | |
| finished object | FO | a completed knitting project |
| flat knitting | knitting back-and-forth on straight or circular needles to create a piece of flat knitting | |
| frogging | unraveling a piece of knitting; resembles the sound a frog makes (rip-it, rip-it) | |
| garter stitch | Knit EVERY row when working on straight needles; knit 1 round, purl 1 round when working on a circular needle. | |
| gauge | number of stitches per inch horizontally and vertically when using the recommended yarn weight and stitch pattern | |
| I-cord | knitted cord created using double pointed needles | |
| knitting in the round | knitting on circular or double pointed needles to create a piece of cylindrical knitting | |
| Increase | inc | the creation of one or more new stitches |
| intarsia | the integration of isolated blocks of color into a project | |
| joining | attaching a new piece of yarn to the knitting (new skein, new color, etc.) | |
| Kitchener stitch | the invisible joining of two knitted fabrics using yarn and a needle; also known as grafting | |
| knit | k, k1 | a stitch in which yarn is pulled through an existing loop from the back of the work to the front |
| knit front and back | kfb | an increase |
| knit two together | k2tog | an decrease |
| make one | m1 | an increase |
| purl | p, p1 | a stitch in which yarn is pulled through an existing loop from the front of the work to the back |
| ribbing | a textured fabric created by combining knit and purl stitches in the same row (e.g. k2, p2) and repeating identical stitches in subsequent rows | |
| right side | RS | the side of the work that is intended to face the viewer once complete |
| selvage | The side edge of the knitting, composed of the first and last stitch of each row | |
| skein | length of thread or yarn wound in a loose long coil | |
| slip | sl | pick up a stitch from the source needle and slip it onto the working needle without involving the working yarn |
| steek | a shortcut vertical column of knitted stitches added into a garment, to be cut open to make room for an opening or attaching another piece> | |
| stockinette | St st | Knit 1 row, purl 1 row alternately when working on straight needles; knit EVERY round when working on a circular needle. |
| stranded colorwork | technique for working 2+ colors of yarn in the same row with strands of the non-working yarn floating in back of the knitting | |
| straight needles | the traditional set-of-two knitting needles, with a point at one end of each needle and a button on the other end | |
| swatch | a square of test knitting, used as a trial run for gauge, yarn, pattern, etc. | |
| tail | the loose end of the yarn | |
| through the back loop | TBL | creating a stitch through the back leg of the source loop rather than the front |
| unfinished object | UFO | an incomplete knitting project |
work in progress | WIP | an incomplete knitting project |
working yarn | the current strand of yarn coming from the skein that is being used in the knitting | |
| wrong side | WS | the side of the work that is intended to face away from the viewer (back/inside) once complete |
| yarn over | yo | a stitch that creates a hole by bringing the yarn forward and over the top of the needle |
“Women like to sit down with trouble - as if it were knitting” ~ Ellen Glasgow
Pages
▼