English abbreviation · Knitting
What does k2tog mean in knitting?
k2tog means knit 2 together.
In French: 2 mailles endroit ensemble
How to work it
K2tog stands for “knit two together”. It is a decrease: two stitches become one, so the row is one stitch shorter afterwards. It is the most common way to shape a hat crown, a sleeve or a shawl edge.
Hold the yarn at the back, as for any knit stitch. Instead of going into one stitch, put the right needle into the next two stitches on the left needle at once, from left to right, through the front of both, as if to knit.
Wrap the yarn round the right needle and pull the loop through both stitches, then let the two old stitches slip off the left needle. One new stitch sits on the right needle.
A k2tog leans to the right: the stitch on top lies over the one beside it, pointing towards the right. When a pattern wants a decrease that leans the other way, it asks for an ssk. The two are worked as a pair, so that the shaping looks even on both sides.
In a pattern
Row 5: k2, *k2tog, k3; rep from * to end.
Take the row “Row 5: k2, *k2tog, k3; rep from * to end.” “Row 5” is the fifth row. “k2” means knit two stitches, plainly. The asterisk opens a group: “k2tog” is the decrease, then “k3” knits three stitches. “rep from * to end” asks you to start the group again, over and over, until the end of the row. Each pass uses five stitches of the row below and makes four, so your count falls by one per group.
US or UK?
Identical. American and British knitting patterns both write k2tog, and it means the same movement. Only crochet changes between the two conventions, not this abbreviation. French patterns write something like “2 m. ens. à l’endroit”.
Common mistakes
- Knitting only one of the two stitches. You then keep the same number of stitches, and the row does not narrow. Look at the needle after the stitch: the left needle should have lost two stitches, the right one gained one.
- Working it through the back instead of the front. That is another decrease, and it leans the other way. If the slant looks wrong, check the pattern for “k2tog tbl”.
- Pulling the yarn too tight. The two stitches are thick together and the needle goes in with difficulty; keep the stitches near the tip and work with a relaxed hand.
A tip
Count your stitches at the end of each decrease row and write the number down. A row with k2tog has a total in brackets at its end, and checking it takes five seconds. If your fabric feels too tight at the decreases, see the knitting needle sizes page of this site: a needle one size up often helps.
Try it with a row from your pattern
Here is a row that uses it. Replace it with a row from your pattern: every abbreviation the reader knows is underlined, and its meaning shows on hover.
Row 5: k2, *k2tog, k3; rep from * to end.