Understanding Patterns (cracking the code)

Hello one and all! Here is yet another totally useful excerpt from "The Beginning Knitters Guide" I have placed a link for this awesome book off to the side of my blog go ahead and click on the link they are having a special offer right now so take advantage of this awesome book.

Good luck and happy knitting

Chapter 4: Knitting from Patterns

Now that you have the basics of knitting down, it’s time to start actually knitting more than swatches. However, patterns come with their own little language that you have to learn.

When you first open up a knitting pattern you may think it is some martian code sent to twist your brain. However, these patterns are actually written in standard abbreviations so that anyone can understand them (yes, soon even you will find it natural to know what “k1, skp, k2, k2tog, k1” means).

The reason that patterns are written in this way is so that they are not long books of writing. You’re going to have enough in front of you without having to turn the pages of some lengthy booklet to know what you are supposed to do next. Instead, patternmakers have developed these abbreviations to save us all some time and energy.

Patterns also contain items like your gauge, yarn recommendations, and more. So the sooner you understand your patterns, the sooner you can get started making the things that catch your eye.

Knitting Abbreviations

On the following pages you will find the common abbreviations found in patterns along with what those abbreviations stand for. Since we have just gone over some of the basics of knitting you may not recognize all the terms, but we will go over many of them in the chapters that follow.

Abbreviation	Meaning		Abbreviation	Meaning
alt	Alternate		foll	Following
approx	Approximately		g or gr	Gram(s)
beg	Begin		in(s)	Inch(es)
bet	Between		inc	Increasing
bo	Bind Off		k	Knit
cc	Contrasting color		k2tog	Knit 2 together
c4b	Cable 4 back		kbl	Knit through back of loop
c4f	Cable 4 front		kwise	Knit wise
col	Color		lp(s)	Loops
cont	Continue		mc	Main Color
dbl	Double		med	Medium
dec	Decreasing		mm	Millimeter
dpn	Double pointed needle		m1	Make 1
fin	Finished		mult	Multiple

Abbreviation	Meaning		Abbreviation	Meaning
opp	Opposite		sl	Slip
oz	Ounces		sl st	Slip stitch
p	Purl		sp(s)	Space(s)
p2tog	Purl 2 together		ssk	Slip slip knit
pat(s)	Patterns		st (s)	Stitch(es)
pm	Place marker		st st	Stockinette stitch
p tbl	Purl through back of loop		tbl	Through back of loop
psso	Pass slip stitch over		tog	Together
pwise	Purlwise		ws	Wrong Side
rem	Remaining		wyib	With yarn in back
rep	Repeat		wyif	With yarn in front
rev st st	Reverse stockinette stitch		yb	Yarn back
rib	Ribbing		yf	Yarn forward
rnd(s)	Round(s)		yo	Yarn over
rs	Right side		ytb	Yarn to back
sc	Single crochet		ytf	Yarn to front
sk	Skip

Punctuate This!

Not only are there abbreviations in knitting patterns, but certain punctuations marks are used to mean certain things. The asterisk, parenthesis, and plus sign are common sights.

The Asterisk

Asterisks indicate the part of the pattern that you will repeat. Some patterns will use one(*), two (**), or even three (***) asterisks to indicate the repeated row.

Here is an example of what the instruction may look like:

k7, *yo, k6, repeat from * to end of row.

The pattern is telling you to knit 7 stitches, yarn over, knit 6 and repeat from the yarn over until you get to the end of that row.

Parenthesis

Parenthesis are similar to the asterisk in that they are telling you to repeat a certain pattern of stitches. Usually the parenthesis will tell you how many times to repeat the stitch pattern.

Let’s look at an example:

(k1, p2tog, k1) 4 times

This instruction is telling you to knit 1 stitch, pearl 2 together, and knit one stitch. You are to do the pattern four times.

Plus Sign

Again, the plus signs mean to repeat something. Some patterns use asterisks here instead, so you could see either notation in the pattern. They basically mean you are to repeat what is between the plus signs.

Here is an example:

+k7, yo, k6+. Repeat from + to + six times to end of row.

These are primarily the abbreviations you could see in a knitting pattern. Take some time to review them. As you learn what each of the abbreviations mean, you will be able to put together just about any piece imaginable.