Shawl Every Day 2021 - Day 7 - Knitting vocab

Cowl pattern is Spooky Season by Jocelyn Tunney

Knitting uses a lot of specific words and phrases, so here’s a round up of some of the common ones you might see or hear.

knit - usually a verb to describe the act of knitting, but it’s also the name of the main stitch used, i.e., the knit stitch

purl - sort of the opposite of a knit, it’s like working a knit stitch backwards so that it looks like a knit stitch from the back

knit flat - this means the item is worked back and forth in rows, typically on straight needles or circular needles just for length

in the round - the means the item is worked in a spiral to create a tube, typically on circular needles or double pointed needles

colorwork - this refers to patterns that use more than one color, such as the cowl I am wearing today. It can be done with multiple colors per row such as with fair isle or intarsia, or just one color per row in a technique called mosaic knitting

cast on - to start your knitting

cast off/bind off - to end your knitting

ribbing - alternating between knits and purls (typically either knit 1/purl 1 or knit 2/purl 2) will create a stretchy edging, such as for hat brims, sock tops, or sleeve ends

blocking - a technique used after an item is finished to sort of relax the stitches and get them settled into place. This helps get the item to size and also evens out the stitches so they look nice.