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US knitting abbreviations quiz
Read US knitting abbreviations in 30 explained questions: k2tog, ssk, markers, repeats and short pattern instructions. Includes focused practice and worksheets.
Mixed rounds: about 3–5 minutes · No timer
10 random questions per mixed round · 30 questions in the full bank below
Published by Quizpen · Explanations include linked supporting reading. See our source-checking process and review limits.
PRACTICE BY SKILL
Choose a focused round
Practice one part of this topic with every question in that skill. Focused practice is separate from ten-question mixed rounds.
Getting your round ready…
BEHIND THE ROUND
A little more about this quiz
A knitting abbreviation carries an action, a label or a count. Read the whole instruction before choosing: k2tog decreases, M1L increases, and pm and sm do different marker jobs.
Every short instruction in this bank is original. It uses the common US list while making any special definition and repeat boundary explicit.
LEARN THE PATTERN
How to practice US knitting abbreviations
Decode US knitting abbreviations, short original pattern instructions and increase/decrease context. A mixed round draws ten from 30 explained questions.
US knitting abbreviations reference
Uses Craft Yarn Council common US knitting terminology. A designer’s special abbreviation key controls that pattern. This is knitting practice; crochet stitch-name conversions do not apply.
| Entry | Reading task | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| k / p | Knit / purl action | Numerals give the number worked |
| CO / BO | Cast on / bind off | Starting stitches versus finishing an edge |
| RS / WS | Right / wrong fabric side | Different from LH / RH hand labels |
| MC / CC | Main / contrasting color | Actual colors come from the pattern key |
| pm / sm | Place / slip a marker | A new marker versus one already present |
| k2tog / ssk | Single decreases | Right-leaning / left-leaning in the CYC list |
| M1L / M1R | Single knit increases | Leftward / rightward lean |
| wyif / wyib | Yarn position | Front / back of the work |
| [ ] or * | A repeated group | Read the number of repeats or endpoint |
Read each question’s stated scope and key before answering.
Reference sources: Craft Yarn Council: common US knitting abbreviations · Craft Yarn Council: how to read a knitting pattern
Check what you remember
Look away from the table. Try each question, then open it to check your answer.
Does M1L decrease a stitch?Show answer
No. The common list identifies it as a single left-leaning increase.
Which key controls an unfamiliar designer abbreviation?Show answer
The definition in that particular pattern or book.
Read actions, counts and labels separately
K and p identify actions. A number tells you how many stitches to work. RS and WS label fabric sides, while MC and CC refer to colors assigned by a particular key.
Track a repeat’s stopping point
A bracket or asterisk needs its accompanying repeat direction. Count one group first, then apply the number of repeats or the stated endpoint. Read a separate ending after the repeat stops.
Compare a decrease with an increase
K2tog and ssk are single decreases with different listed leans. M1L and M1R are single increases. Practice those contrasts before trying the short instruction set. For a group session, print ten items and ask players to explain the stitch-count change.
Put it into practice
Further reading: Craft Yarn Council: common US knitting abbreviations · Craft Yarn Council: how to read a knitting pattern
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
US knitting abbreviations quiz: the full question sheet
Decode US knitting abbreviations, short original pattern instructions and increase/decrease context. A mixed round draws ten from 30 explained questions.
By Quizpen · Updated
Browse the full question bank30 questions & answers
In the common US list, which action does k name?
Reveal answer
Knit. The letter names the knit action. A following number specifies how many stitches to work; the surrounding instruction gives its context.
Sources for this answer
A pattern begins with CO 18. What does CO ask you to do?
Reveal answer
Cast on. CO introduces stitches by casting on. BO is the different abbreviation commonly used when binding off.
Sources for this answer
A row heading is marked WS. Which kind of information does that label give?
Reveal answer
The wrong side of the fabric. WS is a side-of-fabric label. It is separate from hand, needle, color and stitch-change abbreviations.
Sources for this answer
A color key says MC = navy and CC = cream. Which yarn does a CC instruction use here?
Reveal answer
Cream. CC identifies the contrasting color, and this particular key assigns cream to it. The abbreviation does not universally mean one actual color.
Sources for this answer
In a circular-knitting instruction, what does rnd abbreviate?
Reveal answer
Round. Rnd labels a round. A pattern distinguishes rounds from rows and gives its own instructions for how the work is arranged.
Sources for this answer
Which abbreviation asks you to add a marker at the current position?
Reveal answer
pm. Pm introduces a marker at the designated place. Sm concerns transferring a marker that is already present.
Sources for this answer
Which common abbreviation names a yarn-over action?
Reveal answer
yo. Yo names a yarn over. Read the action within the pattern rather than treating it as a color or equipment label.
Sources for this answer
An instruction refers to the LH needle. What does LH identify?
Reveal answer
Left hand. LH specifies the left hand or its needle in context. It does not itself prescribe an increase.
Sources for this answer
A pattern note uses dec rather than inc. What kind of stitch-count change does dec indicate?
Reveal answer
A decrease. Dec and inc name opposite stitch-count directions. The full instruction must still specify the particular decrease or increase method.
Sources for this answer
Which equipment abbreviation means a cable needle?
Reveal answer
cn. Cn identifies a cable needle. Dpn refers to a double-pointed needle, while the other options name a side or an action.
Sources for this answer
How do you read the original instruction k3, p2?
Reveal answer
Work three knit stitches, then two purl stitches. The letters give the actions and the numerals give their counts. Read the short sequence in its stated order.
Sources for this answer
An original instruction says [k1, p2] 3 times. How many stitches do those repeats work?
Reveal answer
9. One group works three stitches. Three groups work nine: three knit stitches and six purl stitches.
Sources for this answer
A row says *k1, p1; repeat from * until 2 stitches remain, then k2. What happens to the final two stitches?
Reveal answer
Knit both final stitches. The repeat stops with two stitches left. The separate ending then tells you to knit those stitches.
Sources for this answer
You have completed rows 1 and 2 once. The next sentence says repeat rows 1–2 twice more. How many rows does that make altogether?
Reveal answer
6. The first completed pair is two rows, and two more pairs add four. The word more matters: the total is three pairs.
Sources for this answer
Start with 12 stitches. An original row works k2tog twice, then knits each remaining stitch once. How many stitches remain after the row?
Reveal answer
10. Each k2tog replaces two stitches with one, a net reduction of one. Two such decreases reduce twelve to ten.
Sources for this answer
The instructions label row 5 RS and row 6 WS. Which side label belongs to row 6?
Reveal answer
WS. Use the row’s printed side label. RS and WS describe the fabric sides; LH and MC describe different kinds of information.
Sources for this answer
An original sequence says pm, k4, sm, and shows an existing marker after the next four stitches. What is the final action?
Reveal answer
Transfer the existing marker. The last abbreviation is sm. The earlier pm introduces a marker, while sm transfers the existing one reached after the four stitches.
Sources for this answer
A slip-stitch instruction includes wyif. Where does that abbreviation place the yarn?
Reveal answer
At the front of the work. Wyif specifies the front of the work; wyib specifies the back. The reference is the work, not the viewer’s left and right.
Sources for this answer
A key assigns MC to green and CC to gold. An original instruction says k2 with MC, then k1 with CC. Which color works the third stitch?
Reveal answer
Gold. The third stitch uses CC, which the supplied key assigns to gold. Actual colors are pattern-specific.
Sources for this answer
A fictional pattern explicitly defines QK as k2, p1. How should you read QK in that pattern?
Reveal answer
Knit two stitches, then purl one. Publishers can define special abbreviations. The supplied definition controls this fictional instruction; QK is not presented as a common standard term.
Sources for this answer
Which description fits k2tog in the CYC common US list?
Reveal answer
A right-leaning single decrease. Two stitches are worked together as one knit stitch. The source classifies this single decrease as right-leaning.
Sources for this answer
Which listed abbreviation identifies a left-leaning single decrease?
Reveal answer
ssk. Ssk decreases the stitch count with a leftward lean in the common list. M1L and M1R increase the count, while CO casts on.
Sources for this answer
What distinguishes M1L from M1R in the common US list?
Reveal answer
The direction of the increase’s lean. Both are single knit increases in the source. Their L and R distinguish the listed lean direction.
Sources for this answer
Which entry describes a knit increase made into the front and back of a stitch?
Reveal answer
kfb. Kfb uses a knit action into the front and back. Pfb is the corresponding purl-action abbreviation; k2tog decreases instead.
Sources for this answer
What does p2tog do to the two stitches it works?
Reveal answer
Works them as one purl stitch. P2tog is a single decrease: two stitches become one through a purl action. Its name is separate from the knit-action k2tog.
Sources for this answer
What is the key difference between sl1k and sl1p?
Reveal answer
The orientation used when slipping the stitch. The entries distinguish slipping knitwise from slipping purlwise. Slipping is not automatically the same as working a new knit or purl stitch.
Sources for this answer
In the common list, what does psso direct you to pass over?
Reveal answer
The slipped stitch. Psso operates on a previously slipped stitch. Follow the complete sequence to identify the stitch it passes over and the resulting decrease.
Sources for this answer
Which loop location is named by tbl?
Reveal answer
The back loop. Tbl specifies the back loop. Tfl names the front loop in the common list.
Sources for this answer
The CYC US/Canada comparison pairs US bind off with which other term?
Reveal answer
Cast off. The comparison recognizes cast off as a regional term paired with bind off. Do not import crochet stitch-name conversion rules into knitting.
Sources for this answer
A designer uses an unfamiliar abbreviation that is absent from the common list. What should you check first?
Reveal answer
The pattern’s own abbreviation key. Designers may define special abbreviations at the beginning of a pattern or book. Read that definition before guessing.
Sources for this answer
Answer key
- Knit. The letter names the knit action. A following number specifies how many stitches to work; the surrounding instruction gives its context.
- Cast on. CO introduces stitches by casting on. BO is the different abbreviation commonly used when binding off.
- The wrong side of the fabric. WS is a side-of-fabric label. It is separate from hand, needle, color and stitch-change abbreviations.
- Cream. CC identifies the contrasting color, and this particular key assigns cream to it. The abbreviation does not universally mean one actual color.
- Round. Rnd labels a round. A pattern distinguishes rounds from rows and gives its own instructions for how the work is arranged.
- pm. Pm introduces a marker at the designated place. Sm concerns transferring a marker that is already present.
- yo. Yo names a yarn over. Read the action within the pattern rather than treating it as a color or equipment label.
- Left hand. LH specifies the left hand or its needle in context. It does not itself prescribe an increase.
- A decrease. Dec and inc name opposite stitch-count directions. The full instruction must still specify the particular decrease or increase method.
- cn. Cn identifies a cable needle. Dpn refers to a double-pointed needle, while the other options name a side or an action.
- Work three knit stitches, then two purl stitches. The letters give the actions and the numerals give their counts. Read the short sequence in its stated order.
- 9. One group works three stitches. Three groups work nine: three knit stitches and six purl stitches.
- Knit both final stitches. The repeat stops with two stitches left. The separate ending then tells you to knit those stitches.
- 6. The first completed pair is two rows, and two more pairs add four. The word more matters: the total is three pairs.
- 10. Each k2tog replaces two stitches with one, a net reduction of one. Two such decreases reduce twelve to ten.
- WS. Use the row’s printed side label. RS and WS describe the fabric sides; LH and MC describe different kinds of information.
- Transfer the existing marker. The last abbreviation is sm. The earlier pm introduces a marker, while sm transfers the existing one reached after the four stitches.
- At the front of the work. Wyif specifies the front of the work; wyib specifies the back. The reference is the work, not the viewer’s left and right.
- Gold. The third stitch uses CC, which the supplied key assigns to gold. Actual colors are pattern-specific.
- Knit two stitches, then purl one. Publishers can define special abbreviations. The supplied definition controls this fictional instruction; QK is not presented as a common standard term.
- A right-leaning single decrease. Two stitches are worked together as one knit stitch. The source classifies this single decrease as right-leaning.
- ssk. Ssk decreases the stitch count with a leftward lean in the common list. M1L and M1R increase the count, while CO casts on.
- The direction of the increase’s lean. Both are single knit increases in the source. Their L and R distinguish the listed lean direction.
- kfb. Kfb uses a knit action into the front and back. Pfb is the corresponding purl-action abbreviation; k2tog decreases instead.
- Works them as one purl stitch. P2tog is a single decrease: two stitches become one through a purl action. Its name is separate from the knit-action k2tog.
- The orientation used when slipping the stitch. The entries distinguish slipping knitwise from slipping purlwise. Slipping is not automatically the same as working a new knit or purl stitch.
- The slipped stitch. Psso operates on a previously slipped stitch. Follow the complete sequence to identify the stitch it passes over and the resulting decrease.
- The back loop. Tbl specifies the back loop. Tfl names the front loop in the common list.
- Cast off. The comparison recognizes cast off as a regional term paired with bind off. Do not import crochet stitch-name conversion rules into knitting.
- The pattern’s own abbreviation key. Designers may define special abbreviations at the beginning of a pattern or book. Read that definition before guessing.