If you've ever opened a knitting pattern and felt like you'd stumbled into a secret code, you're in good company. Lines like "k2tog, yo, k2, ssk" look nothing like ordinary English, and it's easy to assume you're missing some skill everyone else already has. You're not. Pattern shorthand is simply a system, and once you learn how it works, it stops looking like code and starts looking like a set of very efficient directions.
This guide walks you through that system from the ground up: the common abbreviations, the punctuation marks that organize them, how to work through an actual line of instructions, and how charts translate the same information into pictures. By the end, you'll be able to pick up almost any pattern and know where to start.
Why Patterns Use Shorthand in the First Place
Knitting patterns are written in abbreviations for the same reason recipes say "tbsp" instead of "tablespoon": space and clarity. A single sweater pattern might repeat an instruction like "knit 2, purl 2" hundreds of times across dozens of rows. Spelling that out in full sentences would turn a two-page pattern into a small book, and it would actually make the pattern harder to scan while you're knitting. Abbreviating the instructions keeps the pattern compact enough to glance at mid-row without losing your place.
Most designers and publications lean on a shared set of conventions rather than inventing their own, which is why a pattern from one designer usually reads a lot like a pattern from another. That shared vocabulary is what makes it worth learning once and reusing forever.
The Building Blocks: Common Knitting Abbreviations
Every pattern is built from a fairly small set of recurring terms. Once these feel familiar, the rest of the pattern is really just telling you in what order and how many times to do them. Here are the abbreviations you'll run into most often, especially in patterns aimed at newer knitters.
| Abbreviation | Meaning | What it looks like in a pattern |
|---|---|---|
| k | Knit | k4 = knit 4 stitches |
| p | Purl | p2 = purl 2 stitches |
| st(s) | Stitch(es) | "cast on 20 sts" |
| RS / WS | Right side / Wrong side | "Row 1 (RS)" |
| beg | Beginning | "at beg of row" |
| cont | Continue | "cont in patt" |
| patt | Pattern | shorthand for a repeating stitch sequence |
| rep | Repeat | "rep from *" |
| rnd(s) | Round(s) | used in circular knitting instead of rows |
| tog | Together | as in k2tog |
| yo | Yarn over | wrap the yarn over the needle to create a new stitch and an eyelet |
| k2tog | Knit 2 stitches together | a right-leaning decrease |
| ssk | Slip, slip, knit | a left-leaning decrease |
| psso | Pass slipped stitch over | used in some decrease combinations |
| kfb | Knit into the front and back of a stitch | a common increase |
| inc | Increase | adds a stitch |
| dec | Decrease | removes a stitch |
| sl st | Slip stitch | move a stitch to the right needle without working it |
| m1 | Make one | an increase worked between two existing stitches |
You won't need to memorize this table before you start knitting. Keep it open in another tab (or bookmark this page) and check back whenever an abbreviation stops you mid-row. Within a project or two, most of these become second nature.
A quick note on decreases, since they trip up a lot of newer knitters: k2tog and ssk both remove one stitch, but they lean in opposite directions. K2tog leans to the right because the stitches are worked together as they naturally sit on the needle. Ssk leans to the left because the stitches are slipped first, which twists them before they're knit together. Patterns often pair the two on either side of a shaping line so the fabric decreases symmetrically.
Punctuation That Organizes the Instructions
Abbreviations tell you what to do; punctuation tells you how often and in what grouping. Three symbols do almost all of that work.
Asterisks Mark Where a Sequence Repeats
An asterisk (*) flags the start of a section that repeats across a row, paired with an instruction like "rep from * to end" or "rep from * across." For example:
*"K2, p2; rep from * to end."*
This means you work knit 2, purl 2, and then go back to that asterisk and repeat the same two steps over and over until you reach the end of the row. It's a way of avoiding writing "k2, p2" fifteen times in a row.
Brackets Group a Fixed Number of Repeats
Square brackets [ ] work similarly to asterisks, but they specify an exact repeat count rather than "keep going to the end." For example:
*"[Yo, k2tog] 4 times."*
Here, the yarn-over-then-decrease pair happens exactly four times, not continuously across the row. Brackets are especially common in lace and cable patterns, where a motif needs to repeat a set number of times rather than fill however much space is left.
Parentheses Do Double Duty
Parentheses ( ) show up in two different roles, and context tells you which one applies.
Sometimes they group stitches worked into the same spot, such as *"(k1, p1, k1) in next st,"* meaning all three of those stitches are worked into a single stitch below, often to create a small textured bobble.
Other times, especially in garment patterns, parentheses separate numbers for different sizes. A line like *"cast on 66 (72, 78, 84) sts"* gives one cast-on count per size, smallest to largest, and you simply follow the number that matches the size you're making all the way through the pattern. It helps to circle or highlight your size's numbers before you start, since a pattern with several sizes can otherwise get visually noisy fast.
Reading an Example Line, Step by Step
Let's put it all together with a line you might actually see in a lace or eyelet pattern:
Row 1 (RS): K1, *k2tog, yo, k2; rep from * to last st, k1.
Here's how to work through it piece by piece:
- "Row 1 (RS)" tells you this is the first row, and that you're on the right side of the fabric — the side that will show on the finished piece.
- "K1" — knit the very first stitch on your needle. This is an edge stitch, worked once and not part of the repeating section.
- The asterisk before "k2tog" marks where the repeating section begins.
- "k2tog" — knit the next two stitches together, creating a right-leaning decrease.
- "yo" — bring the yarn over the needle before the next stitch, which adds a stitch back and leaves an eyelet hole. This is what balances out the decrease so your stitch count stays even.
- "k2" — knit the next two stitches plainly.
- **"rep from * to last st"** — go back to the asterisk and repeat "k2tog, yo, k2" again and again, until only one stitch remains on the left needle.
- "k1" — knit that final stitch, mirroring the k1 you started with.
Notice that the decrease and the yarn-over cancel each other out numerically: you lose one stitch with k2tog and gain one back with yo, so your total stitch count stays the same across the row. Checking that the math holds up is a useful habit any time you're working shaping or lace, because it catches mistakes before they compound over several rows.
How Charts Fit In
Not every pattern uses written-out lines like the one above. Many designers, especially for lace, cables, and colorwork, use charts instead — grids where each square stands in for one stitch, the same way each abbreviation does in text.
A few conventions make charts readable once you know them:
- Check the key first. Every chart comes with a legend explaining what each symbol means, and symbols aren't fully standardized between designers, so the key for one pattern won't always match another.
- Right-side rows read right to left. You work the squares in a row starting from the right edge of the chart and moving left, matching the direction your needle naturally travels on a right-side row.
- Wrong-side rows often read left to right. If a chart includes both RS and WS rows, the direction flips, because you're now looking at the fabric from the other side.
- A blank square is usually a knit stitch on RS. It's the most common symbol precisely because it's the most common stitch.
- Heavy outlines or boxes mark a repeat section, similar to the brackets or asterisks in written instructions — you work everything inside the box multiple times before moving on to the stitches outside it.
Charts and written instructions describe the exact same fabric; they're just two different notations for it. Some knitters find charts easier because they show the finished pattern's shape visually, while others prefer text because it can be read one instruction at a time without needing to track a grid. Neither is more "correct" — try both and use whichever keeps you oriented.
Building Confidence, One Pattern at a Time
The fastest way to get comfortable with pattern language isn't to memorize every abbreviation up front — it's to start a simple project and look things up as they come up, the way you'd learn any new vocabulary in context. Keep this guide handy, read one row at a time instead of trying to absorb the whole pattern at once, and don't be afraid to place a stitch marker or make a small note in the margin when a sequence is new to you. Every experienced knitter once stared at "ssk" and had no idea what it meant. The difference between a beginner and an experienced knitter is mostly just how many times they've looked it up.