A 'Dictionary' of Knitting Terms
Knitting terms you'll want to know.
Understanding knitting terms is a basic part of learning to knit. If you don't know what the knitting terms mean, how can you learn to knit?
This is the list of basic knitting terms you need to know (it's easy):
BEGINNER KNITTING TERMS
Cast on - placing the stitches that will be knitted onto the needle.
Joining - adding one piece of yarn to another piece of yarn, or adding a piece of yarn to a partly-finished project.
Knit - one of the two main knitting stitches
Purl - the other main knitting stitch
(So, in other words, if you 'only know two stitches' when you learn to knit, you can literally knit thousands of things!)
Swatch - a small sampler that you knit first before you start a large project, in order to test that the size is correct
Gauge - the ratio of stitches per row and per inch that you measure when you do a swatch.
Cast off (or 'bind off') - finish a knitted item, and get the project off of the knitting needles.
INTERMEDIATE KNITTING TERMS
Increase - adding a new stitch to the row to make it longer
Decrease - subtracting a stitch from the row to make it shorter
Make one - create a new stitch by knitting into an existing one
Slip - move the stitch from the left needle to the right without knitting into it
Stockinette stitch - knit one row, purl one row
Garter stitch - knit (as opposed to purling) all of the stitches and rows
ADVANCED KNITTING TERMS
Intarsia - a style of knitting created by adding in new colors
Yarn over - wind the yarn around the knitting needle once (or in some patterns, several times!) before knitting the stitch with it
Cable - a particular type of stitch that results in 'figure eights,' for example
Ribbing - a combination of stitches (there are several) that allows the knitted fabric to be stretchy (so it's used for waistbands and wristbands, for example).
There are dozens more knitting terms, but understanding these basic ones is a great start!
