• A
  
  As the stitches show = Means to work all the stitches as they are, continuing the pattern you’ve created last round/row.
  For example, if you are working in 2x2 rib, purl the stitches you can see were purled on the previous round, and knit the stitches you can see were knitted on the previous round.
  
  
  
• B
  
  Break the yarn = cutting the yarn. Make sure to leave a short piece of yarn, that you can weave in.
  Blocking = Washing your garment once it is finished, and either pinning it to a soft surface or lying it down flat and pulling it into shape (called blocking).  As the garment dries it will achieve the correct fit. Especially ribbed garments should be washed and blocked, as the rib changes significantly.
  
  
• D
  
  Double-pointed needles = long needles with pointy tips in both ends, not joined by a wire. These are used to knit items with a very small cirfucmference in the round, where you would not be able to fit all stitches on roundneedles with even the shortest wire.
  You’ll use 4 - 5 needles at a time when knitting in the round with double-pointed needles.
  
  
• F
  
  Frogging = Means to unravel your knitted project, either partially or all of it.
  From * to * -  When a pattern says to work from * to *, it means you should repeat whatever action is written between the stars. Example:
  *Knit 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch*. Repeat from * to * throughout the round.
  = Repeat knittng 1 stitch, then purling 1 stitch, then knitting 1 stitch, then purling - etc. etc., until the end of the round.
  
  
• G
  
  Gauge = Also known as tension. The gauge is the number of stitches and rows you achieve within a certain amount of centimeters/inches when knitting.
  A pattern always states what gauge you should have to achieve the correct fit, and not having the correct gauge can alter your garment completely.
  See the Gauge Guide for more info!
  
  
• J
  
  Join stitches to work in the round = This simply means to begin knitting in the round, where you join the work  by knitting the last stitch of the row and then directly after, knitting the first stitch of the row - instead of turning the work over and knitting back again.
  
  
• K
  
  Knitting in the round = When you’ve joined your stitches and work continuously on the rightside of your garment, never switching to work on the wrongside.
  Knitting flat = Also known as “knitting back and forth”. This is where you switch between working the rightside and wrongside of your garment, creating a flat garment.
  Knitwise = if the pattern instructs you to do something knitwise, then you should insert the right needle tip into the next stitch as if you were to work a knit stitch.
  
  
• L
  
  Leg = A stitch has two “legs” - one leg is the part of the stitch you see in front of the needle, and the other leg is the part of the stitch going behind the needle.
  The legs can also be called loops:
  Loop = The same as “leg”.
  
  
• M
  
  Marker = A small ring/item/piece of yarn placed on your needles between stitches to signal different things; where to begin a certain rib pattern, where to make a decrease/increase, etc.
  Magic loop = if you don’t have double-pointed needles, or simply don’t like using DPN’s, you can use the magic loop technique when knitting slim items in the round. Here you pull the wire out between your stitches, making it stick out. This way your stitches don’t have to fit all the way around your wire, and you can then knit slimmer items in the round.
  Meterage = The amount of meters pr. grams a skein of yarn is.
  To some, this is known as yardage.
  
  
• P
  
  Purlwise = likewise, if the pattern instructs you to do something purlwise, then you should insert the right needle tip into the next stitch as if you were to work a purl stitch.
  
  
• R
  
  Rightside = The front side of your knitting project.
  Round needles = Knitting needles joined by a cable/wire. These are used for knitting in the round, and is an essential in every knitter’s kit! You can also easily knit flat/back and forth on round needles as well.
  I always recommend getting a set of interchangeable round needles, where you can mix and match your needles to different wire lengths - otherwise you need a pair of needles in each needle size and wire length.
  Row/round = When working back and forth, you’ve worked one row when you’ve knitted all the stitches on your needles and turn the work over to knit back again.
  When working in the round, you’ve worked one round once you meet your round-marker.
  Row-marker = A special marker used when knitting in the round to signify where your round begins. Is placed between the first and last stitch on your needles right before you join your stitches to work in the round.
  

• S
  
  Selvedge = Also known as the border stitch. This is the outermost stitch of a flat knitted piece.
  
  
• W
  
  Wrongside = The back side of your knitting project.
  
  
• Y
  
  Yarn in back - keeping your yarn strand behind the needles/ furthest away from you.
  Yarn in front - bringing your yarn strand in front of the needles/closest to you.
  

• Note: This is a short description of different techniques you might meet in a knitting pattern. For in-depth tutorials, check out my YouTube channel where I regularly post new tutorials!
  
  
• B
  
  
  Bind off = also known as cast-off to some people. The act of closing off stitches, to make sure they don’t unravel. There are many bind-off methods, and the specific method you should use will be stated in each pattern.
  
  
• C
  
  Cast on = The very first row of stitches you create in the beginning of your knitting project. There are many cast-on methods suitable for different projects, and a knitting pattern will always tell you which one to use.
  

• D
  
  Decrease = To decrease the amount of stitches, usually by working two or more stitches together. There are many different ways to make decreases, both left-and right leaning decreases, knit-and purl decreases, etc. Making decreases will make the garment smaller.
  
  
•  F
  
  Fairisle = A technique used to knit with multiple colours. Can be knitted flat and round, and is a great technique for colourwork with small colourpatterns where you have to switch colours after every 4-5 stitches. Fairisle is traditional multicoloured designs from the Shetland Isle of Fair Isle.
  
  
• G
  
  Garter stitch = When doing a garter stitch pattern, your project will alternate between one full row/round of knit stitches and one full row/round of purl stitches. Garter stitch looks the same from the rightside and the wrongside.
  - When working in the round: alternate between knitting all stitches for one round, then purling all stitches for one round.
  - When working flat: knit all stitches both when working on the rightside and the wrongside.
  (German) Short Rows = A technique for shaping knitwear. Often used to shape necklines, shoulders or heels in socks. In short (no pun intended) a short row is worked by knitting part of the way through a row/round on the rightside, then stopping, turning to the wrongside and knitting back on the wrongside, and repeating.
  There are many short row techniques out there, but my patterns primarily use the German short row technique as this is both the easiest and prettiest IMO.
  
  
• I
  
  Increases = To increase the amount of stitches. Making increases will make the garment larger. There are many ways to make increases - both left and right leaning increases, knit and purl increases, etc. See these below, under ‘Knit increases’ and ‘Purl increases’
  Intarsia = A technique used to knit with multiple colours, through a special joining method. Intarsia is knitted flat/back and forth, and is a great technique for colourwork with larger colourpatterns where you knit more than 5-10 stitches before switching colours.
  
  
• K
  
  Knit increases = Creating a new knit stitch. A knit stitch can either slant right or left, and a pattern will almost always tell you exactly what kind of increase to make - but if it doesn’t specify, you should likely make a right-leaning increase.
  Left- and right leaning knit increases are often used for shaping necklines or raglan increases, where it is important that your increase-stitches lean to the correct side.
  
  Right leaning knit increase: Pick up the horizontal strand of yarn between the stitch you’ve just worked and the next stitch, from the back, with the left needle. Knit the strand of yarn as if it was a regular knit stitch.
  Left leaning knit increase: Pick up the horizontal strand of yarn between the stitch you’ve just worked and the next stitch, from the front, with the left needle. Knit the strand of yarn through the back loop.
  
  
• M
  
  Mattress stitching/seaming = A seaming method to graft two knitted pieces together invisibly. When seaming with mattress stitching, your selvedges will ‘disappear’ onto the inside of your garment.
  Moss stitch = a technique where you alternate between working a knit stitch and a purl stitch every row/round - always knitting the opposite stitch than the one you worked the previous row/round.
  
  
• P
  
  Picking up stitches = A technique used to attach a new part of your project to a part you’ve already knitted - for example picking up stitches in a neckhole to begin knitting a ribbed neckband, or picking up stitches in an armscye to begin knitting a sleeve.
  Usually you will pick up stitches by poking the tip of your right needle into a garment, then looping yarn around the needle and pulling the needle back through the garment, creating a loop/stitch on your right needle.
  Now, this is just a short description - there are many ways to pick up stitches, so check out my YouTube channel for some in-depth tutorials.
  Purl increases = Creating a new purl stitch. You can create both right- and left leaning purl increases, although a lot of times you won’t be able to tell the difference (contrary to knit stitches, where the difference is clear). A pattern will almost always tell you exactly what kind of increase to make - but if it doesn’t specify, you should likely make a right-leaning increase.
  Right leaning purl increase: Pick up the horizontal strand of yarn between the stitch you’ve just worked and the next stitch, from behind, with the left needle. Purl the strand of yarn as if it was a regular purl stitch.
  Left leaning purl increase: Pick up the horizontal strand of yarn between the stitch you’ve just worked and the next stitch, from the front, with the left needle. Purl the strand of yarn through the back loop.
  
  
• R
  
  Raglan stitch/stitches = The stitch/stitches dividing the sections of a garment shaped with raglan increases. When working a garment, raglan increases are made on each side of the raglan stitch(es).
  Often you will have to place markers on each side of the raglan stitch, to signal which exact stitch is the raglan stitch. You can also easily have more than one raglan stitch, and the knitting pattern will always tell you how many raglan stitches is needed.
  On the finished garment you will see a ’seam’ that runs down the front and back of the sweater, dividing the sleeves from the front- and backpiece. This ‘seam’ is the raglan stitch.
  Raglan shaping = A technique usually used for tops/sweaters worked top-down in one piece, where you make increases to gradually expand the sweater as you work it, resulting in it being smaller towards the neck and wider around the chest and torso.
  When shaping a sweater with raglan increases, the stitches of the sweater is divided into sections - most often a frontpiece, right sleeve, left sleeve and backpiece - immedeately after you’ve created the neckline.
  Sitting between each of these divided sections, is (at least) one stitch that doesn’t belong to any of the four sections, but acts as a ‘border’ between the sections.
  This stitch is called a raglan stitch. When working the sweater, you will make raglan increases on each side of this raglan stitch.
  On the finished garment you will see a ’seam’ that runs down the front and back of the sweater, dividing the sleeves from the front- and backpiece. This ‘seam’ is the raglan stitch.
  Raglan increases = making a right-increase immediately before a raglan stitch, and a left-increase immediately after the raglan stitch.
  Rib = A technique often used in cuffs or necklines, as rib is often super stretchy. A rib pattern is worked by changing between knit and purl stitches;
  - 1x1 rib = Knitting one stitch, then purling one stitch - and repeating.
  - 2x2 rib = Knitting two stitches, then purling two stitches - and repeating.
  etc…
  
  
• S
  
  Stockinette stitch = Stockinette stitching means creating all knit stitches on the rightside of a project and all purl stitches on the wrongside.
  - When working in the round: always knit all of your stitches.
  - When working flat: Knit all stitches when working on the rightside, and purl all stitches when working on the wrongside.
  
  
• T
  
  Through the back loop = Usually when knitting and purling, you work through the front loop. When working through the back loop, your stitches become twisted which can give a super cool look. This is called twisted rib:
  Twisted rib = Knitting and purling your stitches through the back loop instead of the front loop.
  
  
• W
  
  Working with 2 (or more) strands held together = Means to hold two strands of the stated yarn together and knitting with them as were they one strand.
  This is often used for patterns where you need to work with multiple different yarn types, e.g. a strand of mohair together with a strand of merino - or when working with very thin yarn that could benefit from being held together, making the strand look twice as thick - or if you want a more chunky look, holding multiple strands together makes the yarn look chunkier.
  
  
• Y
  
  Yarn over = A technique used to make increases or to make holes (on purpose, you know) in your knitwear. Do a yarn over by bringing your yarn to the front of the work, then flicking it over and behind your right needle, and then continue knitting. This creates a hole.
  To keep the hole, on the next round you should knit/purl the yarn-over regularly.
  To shrink the hole, on the next round you should knit/purl the yarn-over twisted/through the back loop.

St/ sts = stitch/stitches

K = a knit stitch

P = a purl stitch

R = Row/round

M = marker

R-m = Round-marker

R-inc = right increase

L-inc = left increase

k tbl = knit through the back loop

p tbl = purl through the back loop 

C1, C2, C3… = Colour 1, Colour 2, Colour 3 etc. These abbreviations will be used in patterns for colourwork garments (intarsia, fairisle) or for striped garments, to differentiate between which colours to use.