How to knit the knit stitch

The knit stitch is the most basic stitch in knitting. You make it by pulling a new loop of yarn through an existing stitch. Knit every stitch of every row and you create garter stitch, a soft, thick, reversible fabric that suits a first project. Once you can knit, you are most of the way to making a scarf. This guide teaches the Continental style, with the yarn held in your left hand. This is the standard way of knitting across Scandinavia and much of Europe, and often the faster method once learned.

This assumes you have already cast on. Your stitches start on the left needle and the working yarn hangs at the back.

Holding the yarn (Continental)

The working yarn runs over the top of your left index finger, which feeds the yarn and controls the tension. For extra tension, wrap the yarn once or twice around your little finger (or around the index finger itself) first. There is no single correct hold. Adjust the wraps until the yarn feeds smoothly without going slack. Comfort and even tension are what matter.

The knit stitch in four steps

Hold the needle with your cast-on stitches in your left hand (yarn over your index finger, behind the work) and the empty needle in your right:

1. In: insert the right needle into the front of the first stitch on the left needle, from left to right, passing the tip from front to back so it ends up behind the left needle. The two needles form an X, with the right needle behind the left.
2. Pick: move the right needle tip over the top of the working yarn and catch it. Seen from the needle tip, the movement is anticlockwise. The needle does the work. Your left index finger holds the yarn steady.
3. Through: draw the caught yarn back through the stitch, towards you, so a new loop sits on the right needle. If the loop starts to slip off, hold it with the tip of your left middle finger.
4. Off: slide the old stitch off the left needle. The new stitch stays on the right needle.

That is one knit stitch. A short way to remember it is: in, pick, through, off. Repeat across the row. When the row is done, swap the needles (the full one goes back into your left hand) and knit the next row.

What you have made: garter stitch

Knitting every row produces garter stitch: horizontal ridges on both sides, a thick and stretchy fabric that lies flat and does not curl. It is the easiest fabric to make and suits scarves, dishcloths and blankets. → How to knit a scarf

Common beginner mistakes

• Splitting the yarn: the needle goes through the middle of the strand rather than into the stitch. Slow down and aim for the open loop.
• Adding stitches by accident: usually from knitting into the gap between stitches, or not letting the old stitch drop off. Count your stitches at the end of each row.
• Stitches too tight to move: keep them loose enough to slide along the needle.