Knitting Abbreviations & Pattern Glossary
Every abbreviation you are likely to meet in a pattern, plus the US and UK differences that quietly change what a pattern is asking you to do.
Short answer: knitting patterns use a standard shorthand — K knit, P purl, CO cast on, BO bind off. The stitch names are the same in US and UK patterns, but the vocabulary around them is not: gauge is tension, bind off is cast off, and seed stitch is moss stitch. Yarn weights and needle sizes use entirely separate numbering systems.
This page is a reference, not a tutorial. If you are working out how a pattern is put together in the first place — the anatomy, charts, parentheses and asterisks — start with how to read a knitting pattern, then come back here when you hit an abbreviation you don't recognize.
The Abbreviation Reference
Alphabetical order is less useful than grouping by what the abbreviation does, so these run roughly in the order you meet them in a project: setting up, the basic stitches, decreases, increases, then everything else.
Put the starting stitches on the needle.
Close the stitches so the edge cannot unravel.
The knit stitch — smooth side facing you.
The purl stitch — bumpy side facing you.
The unit patterns count width in.
One trip around when knitting in the round.
The outside and inside of the finished garment.
Right-leaning single decrease, −1 st.
Single decrease worked on a purl row, −1 st.
Left-leaning single decrease, −1 st. The mirror of k2tog.
Double decrease, −2 sts. CDD leaves the center stitch on top.
Lift the slipped stitch over the one just worked.
Increase that leaves a deliberate hole — the basis of lace.
Nearly invisible increases that lean opposite ways, +1 st each.
Increase worked into one stitch, +1 st. Leaves a small bar.
Generic instruction; the pattern says which method.
Move a stitch to the other needle without working it.
Mark a position; slip the marker as you pass it.
Work the named section again.
Usually 'beg of rnd', the start of the round.
Keep working as established.
Work into the back leg to twist the stitch.
Short-row technique: wrap a stitch, turn the work.
Knit on RS, purl on WS. The plain smooth fabric.
Knit every row flat. Ridged and reversible.
Colorwork shorthand.
Always check the pattern's own key first. Designers invent shorthand for stitch patterns specific to their design, and a few reuse a common abbreviation for something non-standard. Where the pattern defines a term, the pattern wins.
US vs UK: The Same Word, A Different Meaning
This is where experienced knitters still get caught. In knitting the stitches themselves are identical — it is the words for them that diverge. Two of these are outright false friends: a UK moss stitch is a US seed stitch, so following the wrong reading gives you a visibly different fabric.
| US term | UK term | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Gauge | Tension | Stitches and rows over 4 in / 10 cm. |
| Bind off | Cast off | Identical technique, different verb. |
| Stockinette stitch | Stocking stitch | Same fabric. |
| Gauge swatch | Tension square | The test piece you knit before starting. |
| Yarn over (YO) | Yarn forward / yarn round needle (yfwd / yrn) | UK patterns distinguish the yarn's path; the resulting stitch is the same. |
| Seed stitch | Moss stitch | A genuine false friend — UK 'moss stitch' is the US 'seed stitch'. |
| Moss stitch | Double moss stitch | The other half of the same false friend. Check the row-by-row instructions, not the name. |
| Fingering weight | 4-ply | Sock and shawl weight. |
| Sport / Light worsted | 5-ply / DK | Naming overlaps here; trust the stated gauge. |
| Worsted | Aran | Not an exact match — worsted is marginally finer than aran. |
Telling which convention a pattern uses: look for the word tension, the spelling color, or a weight given in ply. Any of the three means you are reading a UK or Australian pattern, and the terms in the middle column apply.
Yarn Weight Names: US, UK and Australian
A yarn's weight is its thickness. Three naming systems are in active use, and the boundaries between them are approximate — the stated gauge on the ball band is always more reliable than the name. Note that Australian and older UK ply numbers describe thickness, not how many strands the yarn is actually spun from.
| CYC no. | US | UK | AU | Typical gauge | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lace (0) | Lace / Cobweb | 1–3 ply | 2-ply | 32–40 sts / 4 in (10 cm) | Lace shawls, fine wraps |
| Super fine (1) | Fingering / Sock | 4-ply | 4-ply | 27–32 sts | Socks, baby garments, shawls |
| Fine (2) | Sport | 5-ply | 5-ply | 23–26 sts | Light sweaters, accessories |
| Light (3) | DK / Light worsted | DK | 8-ply | 21–24 sts | Sweaters, cardigans — the most common weight |
| Medium (4) | Worsted | Aran | 10-ply | 16–20 sts | Warm sweaters, hats, blankets |
| Bulky (5) | Chunky | Chunky | 12-ply | 12–15 sts | Winter hats, scarves, quick knits |
| Super bulky (6) | Super bulky | Super chunky | 14–16-ply | 7–11 sts | Fast accessories, chunky blankets |
The single most common substitution mistake is treating worsted and aran as interchangeable. Aran is a little heavier, and over a whole sweater the difference compounds. Our yarn substitution calculator works from yardage rather than from the weight name, which sidesteps the problem entirely.
Needle Sizes: US, UK and Metric
Metric sizing states the diameter in millimeters and is unambiguous. US numbering runs upwards as needles get thicker; the old UK numbering runs downwards. A pattern that says "size 8" therefore means 5.0 mm to an American knitter and 4.0 mm to a British one — a difference large enough to change your gauge outright.
| Metric | US | UK | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0 mm | 0 | 14 | Socks, lace |
| 2.25 mm | 1 | 13 | Socks, fingering weight |
| 2.75 mm | 2 | 12 | Fingering weight |
| 3.25 mm | 3 | 10 | Sport weight |
| 3.5 mm | 4 | — | Sport / DK |
| 3.75 mm | 5 | 9 | DK |
| 4.0 mm | 6 | 8 | DK / worsted |
| 4.5 mm | 7 | 7 | Worsted |
| 5.0 mm | 8 | 6 | Worsted / aran |
| 5.5 mm | 9 | 5 | Aran |
| 6.0 mm | 10 | 4 | Chunky |
| 8.0 mm | 11 | 0 | Super chunky |
For sizes not listed here, our needle size converter covers the full range in all three systems.
Measurements and Unit Conversions
US patterns give lengths in inches and yarn in yards and ounces; most of the rest of the world uses centimeters, meters and grams. These four conversions cover almost everything a pattern will ask of you.
| Imperial | Metric | Conversion |
|---|---|---|
| 1 inch | 2.54 cm | inches × 2.54 = cm |
| 1 yard | 0.91 m | yards × 0.91 = meters |
| 1 ounce (oz) | 28.35 g | ounces × 28.35 = grams |
| 4 inches | 10 cm | the standard gauge window |
Note that 4 inches is 10.16 cm, not exactly 10 — the two gauge conventions are close enough that patterns treat them as equal, but over a 40-inch bust the rounding is worth about half an inch. If you are working right at the boundary between two sizes, convert from the stitch count rather than the measurement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between US and UK knitting patterns?
The stitch names themselves are the same in knitting — a knit stitch is a knit stitch on both sides of the Atlantic. What differs is the surrounding vocabulary: UK patterns say 'tension' where US patterns say 'gauge', 'cast off' where US says 'bind off', and 'stocking stitch' where US says 'stockinette'. Yarn weights and needle sizes also use different naming systems. (Crochet is the opposite: there the stitch names themselves differ, which is why a US 'single crochet' is a UK 'double crochet'.)
Does 'gauge' mean the same thing as 'tension'?
Yes. Gauge (US) and tension (UK) both describe how many stitches and rows you get over a fixed measurement — 4 inches or 10 cm — in a given stitch pattern. Confusingly, 'needle gauge' is also the name of the little tool with holes in it used to identify an unmarked needle, so read the context.
What does 'ply' mean in Australian and UK patterns?
In Australian and older UK patterns, 'ply' is a yarn weight name, not a count of the strands twisted together. 4-ply is roughly a US fingering weight, 8-ply is roughly DK, and 12-ply is roughly aran. A modern yarn labeled 8-ply may well be spun from three plies — the number refers to the thickness convention, not the construction.
How do I convert inches to centimeters?
1 inch = 2.54 cm. Multiply inches by 2.54 to get centimeters, and divide centimeters by 2.54 to get inches. The one conversion worth memorizing is 4 inches = 10 cm, because that is the standard measurement window for gauge.
What should I do if a pattern uses an abbreviation not listed here?
Designers do invent their own shorthand, which is why nearly every pattern includes its own abbreviation key — check there first, since a designer's definition always overrides a general reference. If it is still unclear, search our knitting dictionary for the full term.
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