Ever open a knitting pattern and feel like you’ve wandered into a scene from A Beautiful Mind? Symbols float, letters jumble, and suddenly you’re convinced you need a chalkboard wall and a piece of string to map it all out. Welcome to the world of knitting abbreviations! It’s our very own secret language. But don’t worry, you don’t actually need a PhD in cryptography. Here, we are going to untangle the confusing hieroglyphics while muttering, “ugh, not another knot!” or whispering, “please skedaddle, I’m counting.” Let’s decode the knitting shorthand into plain English. I’ll sprinkle in a few jokes and make sure you leave feeling more “I’ve got this” than “where’s my decoder ring?”
This page is your central knitting abbreviations guidebook. Think of it as the place you bookmark, pin, or save to keep track of the whole series. Each individual post will break down one abbreviation in detail, but this index is where you can find them all.
Explore the Abbreviation Series
Here’s what’s been decoded so far:
- k = knit stitch (and sometimes knot screaming)
👉 Read the full knit post here - p = purl stitch (and please skedaddle if I’m counting)
👉 Read the full purl post here
Coming soon!
Next up: co (cast on, the starting line of every project), ** (repeat the pattern between the asterisks), sl1pwyif (slip one stitch purlwise with yarn in front), sl1pwyib (slip one stitch purlwise with yarn in back), and sl (shorthand for sl1pwyib). Because knitting patterns never stop speaking in code.
Why Abbreviations Matter
At first, abbreviations feel like stumbling into a spy school exam. But once you crack the code, life gets easier and a lot more fun. You’ll:
- Read patterns without having to pause and Google every other line
- Tackle bigger projects with confidence instead of dread
- Roll your eyes and laugh at the shorthand that once made you want to scream into your yarn ball
And here’s the best part: the more abbreviations you decode, the less you’ll feel like that frazzled, exasperated knitter at the top of this page… and the more you’ll start to look like the happy knitter at the bottom—project finished, needles down, and a gorgeous hat in hand.
This index will keep growing as the series expands. Every time a new abbreviation post goes live, it’ll show up here, ready for you to decode at your own pace.
👉 Want the complete guide instead of piecing it together clue by clue? Check out my full walkthrough: How to Read Knitting Patterns.
Stay in the Loop
Make this page your bookmark-worthy Rosetta Stone for knitting abbreviations. Or, if you’d rather skip the detective work, join my email list and I’ll send you updates whenever a new abbreviation gets cracked.
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