Knit Two Together: How to Do It Step by Step

Knit Two Together is a knitting stitch that makes right-leaning single decrease. Makers reach for it for hat crowns, shaping, lace paired with yarn overs. It is rated beginner here, so it is a good stitch to learn early and practice on a small swatch before a real project.

1. Insert the right needle knitwise into the next two stitches on the left needle at the same time, entering the second stitch first. 2. Wrap the yarn counterclockwise as for a knit stitch. 3. Pull the loop through both stitches. 4. Slide both stitches off the left needle. One stitch has been decreased. Work slowly for the first few repeats, keep your tension even, and check the result against the steps before continuing across a whole row or motif.

US patterns abbreviate knit two together as k2tog. UK patterns use the same abbreviation, k2tog, so this one reads the same on both sides of the Atlantic. Pattern keys list every abbreviation used, usually near the materials list.

The most common problems are: inserting into only one stitch; using it where a left-leaning decrease (ssk) is needed for symmetry. Most are easy to spot if you pause after a few repeats and compare your work with the steps. Good light helps a great deal, especially with dark yarn or thread.

Stitches closely related to knit two together include Slip Slip Knit, Yarn Over, Knit Front and Back. Learning them together makes patterns easier to read, because many designs switch between related stitches to change texture, height or line. Each has its own step-by-step page in the stitch dictionary.