How to Slip Stitch in Knitting (Purlwise vs Knitwise)

Kristen starts with the rule that saves you every time. A slip stitch means you move the stitch from the left needle to the right needle without working it. Not knit, not purl, just slipped.

The default is to slip purlwise. So if your pattern says "slip 1" with nothing else next to it, you slip it purlwise. Cast on a small swatch in worsted weight on size 7 (4.5mm) needles and knit a few rows of stockinette before you try it. Having a clean fabric to practice on makes the move easy to see.

On the knit side with the yarn in back, insert the right needle into the next stitch as if to purl. That means point to point - the right needle goes in from the right side, sliding under the left needle from front to back. Lift the stitch straight off the left needle onto the right.

You haven't knit it. You haven't purled it. The stitch sits on the right needle untwisted, which is exactly what most patterns want. This is the version you'll use 90% of the time.

Slipping knitwise is the version that twists the stitch. Same setup on the knit side, yarn in back, but this time insert the right needle as if to knit. That's left to right, going through the front of the stitch. Slip it off without wrapping any yarn.

The stitch lands on the right needle with its legs crossed. Patterns only ask for this when they want that twist - usually in textured stitch patterns or as a setup for a decrease like SSK (slip, slip, knit) where the twist is part of the next move.

Yarn position matters as much as the slip direction. With the yarn in back (WYIB) the slip leaves no float on the public side. With the yarn in front (WYIF) you carry a horizontal bar across the slipped stitch.

That bar is how slip-stitch colorwork and mosaic patterns build their design without ever switching colors mid-row. Bring the yarn between the two needles to move it from back to front, slip the stitch, then move the yarn back if the next stitch needs it. The pattern will always tell you where the yarn lives for each slip.

The same two moves work on the purl side. Slip purlwise on the purl side: insert as if to purl, slip it off. Slip knitwise on the purl side: insert as if to knit, which means coming at the stitch from a different angle than on the knit side, and slip it off.

The yarn-in-front and yarn-in-back rule still controls whether the float bar shows on the public side or the private side. Practice each combination on your swatch and look at both faces of the fabric. That comparison is the fastest way to lock the technique in.

Quick decision guide.

• Pattern says "slip 1" with nothing else? Slip purlwise.
• Pattern specifies "slip 1 knitwise" or "sl1k"? Slip knitwise.
• Pattern says "with yarn in front" or "wyif"? Move the yarn forward before you slip, then move it back if the next stitch is a knit.
• Setting up an SSK decrease? Slip both stitches knitwise one at a time.

The most common beginner mistake is slipping knitwise by default. That twists stitches the pattern didn't mean to twist and shows up as a slightly tighter, leaning row in the finished fabric. When in doubt, slip purlwise. You now have everything you need to follow heel turns, slip-stitch edges, and mosaic colorwork patterns.