How to Read a Knitting Pattern (Beginner's Guide)

Every pattern opens with the same handful of sections: a short description of the finished piece, construction notes (knit flat on straight needles or in the round on circulars), yarn and needle requirements, gauge, sizing, an abbreviations key, and then the row-by-row instructions.

Read the opening paragraph first. The designer is telling you what the project is, how it is built (top-down, bottom-up, flat or in the round), and roughly how hard it is. This is where you decide if it is the right project for you before you buy yarn.

The pattern lists a yarn weight (worsted, fingering, bulky, etc.) and usually a yardage estimate. The weight is what you have to match - color and brand are up to you.

Every yarn skein label has a small number inside a yarn-ball icon. A 4 is worsted weight, a 1 is fingering, a 5 is bulky, and so on. Google "yarn weight chart" if you want the full list. Pick a yarn at the same weight or your finished piece will not measure correctly. Buy a little more yardage than the pattern asks for so you do not run short on the last row.

Needle requirements come right after the yarn. The pattern lists a needle type (straight for flat pieces, circular or double-pointed for working in the round) and a size in both US and metric, like US 7 (4.5mm).

If you buy your needles in the US, the US size is what is printed on the package. Metric sizing shows up on European brands and is more precise, so it is the one to trust if you are using needles from different manufacturers.

Patterns for fitted pieces - sweaters, socks, hats - give instructions for multiple sizes at once using parentheses. The format usually reads "size small (medium, large, X-large)" at the top of the pattern.

From then on, every stitch count follows the same format. "Cast on 40 (42, 44, 46) stitches" means cast on 40 for small, 42 for medium, 44 for large, 46 for X-large. Before you knit a single stitch, grab a highlighter or pen and circle every number that matches your size all the way through the pattern. It is the single best habit for following a sized pattern without losing your place.

The gauge box looks something like "20 stitches and 29 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch." That is the designer telling you how many stitches per inch they got with the recommended yarn and needles.

Cast on about 24 stitches with your yarn and needles, knit a stockinette square (knit one row, purl one row) until it measures roughly 5 inches tall, then bind off. Lay a ruler across it and count stitches in a 4-inch span. If you have more than 20, your knitting is tight - go up a needle size. Fewer than 20 means it is loose - go down a size. For scarves, blankets, and other non-fitted projects you can skip the swatch entirely.

Every abbreviation the pattern uses is defined in one block, usually right before the instructions. The most common ones repeat across nearly every pattern you will ever read:

• CO - cast on
• BO - bind off (cast off in UK patterns)
• K - knit
• P - purl
• K2tog - knit two stitches together (decrease)
• SSK - slip slip knit (decrease)
• YO - yarn over (increase / eyelet)
• Sl1 - slip one stitch
• M1L / M1R - make one stitch (left or right leaning)
• kfb - knit front and back (increase)

If any abbreviation in the key is new to you, look it up on YouTube before you cast on. Five minutes of video now saves you from ripping out a row later.

Pattern rows read left to right, one comma at a time. A comma means "and then." So Row 1: K3, P2, SSK, YO, K2 reads as: knit 3, then purl 2, then slip slip knit, then yarn over, then knit 2.

Asterisks mark repeats. K3, *P2, K2* repeat 10 times means knit 3 once, then do the P2 K2 sequence between the asterisks ten times in a row. You will also see brackets used the same way - [K2, P2] x 3 means work K2 P2 three times. At the end of every row the stitch count should still match what the pattern expects, so count after the first few rows to catch any mistakes early.

When the pattern says repeat rows 1-4, five more times, that means you have already done the four rows once and now repeat them another five times for six total. The final block of any pattern is the bind-off (BO) instruction, which finishes the piece.