I was in the library the other day, browsing through a few knitting books before deciding which one to get. Across from me i noticed a Japanese student practicing his alphabet strokes. I found this fascinating as I have always been a fan of Japanese Calligraphy and I was enjoying the elegant manner in which he was writing the English alphabet and numbers. When I was finished and about to leave he asked me if I could explain a phrase to him “but with a little luck”. It struck me how odd our language was at that point as i initially had a difficult time coming up with the right explanation for someone who doesn’t understand English. I eventually got the point across and used the word hopefully (with a little explanation) to convey the meaning. The entire phrase he had was something like “I am getting older, but with a little luck, I am also getting wiser”. I found myself then thinking about knitting patterns and instructions and their origins and their meanings. It also happens that the Sunday knitting group that I belong to is doing baby sweaters (most of them for the first time) and are learning to read knitting instructions for the first time in doing so. Can you see where I am going with this?
Absolutely! While the knitting language has come a long way since the first onset of patterns, there are still quite a few terms and abbreviations that are confusing to some and written differently depending on where you are. I couldn’t possibly go through all of them here, but I thought it might be helpful to list a few that I think are common culprits. There are many more however, and I hope that if you come across any in particular, there is a good glossary with the pattern you’re working with that explains them. Here’s a short list of a few that might prove helpful to you:
tbl – through the back loop – when working a stitch, we usually go through the front of the stitch, but sometimes it is necessary to twist (or untwist) a stitch by working in the back of it. Treat the back of the stitch as if it is the front and knit or purl as per the instructions.
ssk (k2togtbl) – slip, slip, knit – slip the next stitch on your left needle to the right needle purlwise, then repeat. Place your left needle through these two stitches and knit them together. This forms a left slanting decrease and you get the same result if you knit two together going through the back loop (k2togtbl). The trick is to go through the first stitch first, then the second, then knit them together.
psso – pass slipped stitch over – the beginning of this procedure is the important part as it provides the context that gives you an understanding of what you’re doing. It is slip1, k1 – slip1 stitch (purlwise), knit 1. Once you have done this, take the slipped stitch and pass it over the knitted stitch (like you’re casting off) and you will have formed a left slanting decrease.
bo (co) – bind off – this is the same as cast off but because the knitting language is slightly different in many countries, you sometimes never see it this way
yf (yfwd) (yfrn) (yo) (won) – yarn forward, or yarn over, or wool over needle – this means to wrap your yarn over your right needle to create a stitch. It is usually used in lace knitting, but is useful anywhere you want to increase. If this stitch is not worked through the back loop (tbl) it will create a hole – useful in lace work.
cdd – centered double decrease – slip two stitches together (purlwise), k1, then passed the slipped stitches over the knit stitch. This is very similar to the slip1,k1,psso but decreases 2 stitches slanting to the left. It is often accompanied by an opposite, right slanting decrease.
wyib (wyif) – with yarn in back, with yarn in front – placing the yarn either in front or back (as if to purl or knit) when slipping stitches
sk2p(sso) – slip 1, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over – as the translation suggests, this is a double decrease formed by slipping one, knitting 2 together (first decrease), then pass the slipped stitch over the two knitted together (second decrease)
() [] – the instruction in the brackets are to be repeated as many times as directed
rep from * – repeat the instructions from the * symbol as many times as directed
These are the most common difficult abbreviations. If there are any others, hopefully, the glossary will help. If you have any others you think I should mention, leave them in a comment and I’ll put them up!
Hugzzz 😎