Knitting Terms to Learn

By Amy DeVries

You can have a lot of fun with knitting terms. There are interesting wordplays in the names of many small shops and artists.

If you want some real laughs, check out the book It Itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoons.

Knitting Terms and Vocabulary

If you can't understand knitting patterns even after the abbreviations are translated, you might find this list of terms useful.

Bind off

Secure the last row of stitches to stop working. It's usually done with a larger needle to keep things loose.

Blocking

Finishing a piece by washing it and shaping it as it dries.

Cable

Stitches that are carried out of order to create twist designs.

Cast on

Make a row of foundational stitches on one needle so you have somewhere to begin knitting. There are various methods for binding on depending on what type of edge you want.

Decrease

To create less stitches in a row. There are a couple of ways to do it depending on which way you want to slant.

Entrelac

A way of knitting a design with textured squares or triangles to create a basketweave illusion.

Fair Isle

Carrying strands of multiple colors across the back. It's traditionally done with two colors, one held in each hand for two-handed knitting.

Frogging

"Rip it" to take out stitches.

Increase

To create more stitches in a row. There are a couple of ways to do it.

Knit

The basic stitch that consists of a small loop pulled up through another loop.

Purl

The reverse side of a knit stitch. To see purl, you can look at the back of knitting, or you can work a stitch in reverse on the needle.

Ribbing

A stretchy area of ridges that go up and down.

Round

A circular row of stitches.

Seaming

Sewing sides together.

Selvedge

The edge of the knitted piece where the stitches are already secured and stable.

Skein

A bunch of yarn in a twisted shape rather than a ball.

Now you're ready to learn about knitting stitches!

For a well-rounded education, you should also take a look at the crochet terms and weaving terms.

More to Explore

Amy DeVries helps beginner urban homesteaders learn by doing. A lifelong gardener, she has grown food in spaces that expanded to 16 raised beds, patio containers, dwarf fruit and nut trees, and gravity-fed rainwater systems. She shares practical lessons shaped by real experience. Amy homeschools her children and teaches the same hands-on skills that guide her work.