Knit two stitches together to decrease your stitch count

Knit two together (often written as K2tog) is a decrease that combines two stitches into one. You insert your right needle through two stitches on your left needle at the same time, then knit them as if they were a single stitch. The result is one stitch on your right needle instead of two, and your fabric gets narrower by one stitch in that row.

This is the most common decrease in knitting and works on both flat and circular needles. It leans to the right — the second stitch sits on top of the first — which matters when you're shaping garments symmetrically or following a pattern that specifies which direction the decrease should go.

Key Takeaways

  • Insert your right needle through two stitches on the left needle from left to right, as if you were going to knit them separately.
  • Wrap your yarn and pull through both stitches at once, leaving one stitch on the right needle.
  • Knit two together leans right; if your pattern calls for a left-leaning decrease, use slip-slip-knit instead.
  • Practice the motion slowly until you can do it without looking, because the stitch count changes and mistakes compound across rows.

The step-by-step motion

Hold your left needle in your left hand with the stitches facing you. Identify the two stitches you want to decrease — usually they sit next to each other on the needle. Insert your right needle from left to right through the first stitch, then when ready through the second stitch without removing the needle. Both stitches should now sit on your right needle.

Wrap your yarn around the right needle the way you normally would for a knit stitch. Pull the wrapped yarn through both stitches in one motion. Let both original stitches slip off the left needle. You now have one new stitch on the right needle where two used to be.

The whole motion takes one second once you're used to it. The key is inserting through both stitches before you wrap the yarn — if you knit the first stitch, remove it, then try to knit the second, you've made a mistake and need to tink back (unravel stitch by stitch).

When to use knit two together in a pattern

Patterns call for K2tog when they need to narrow the fabric. Common places are armhole shaping (where you decrease a few stitches every other row to make the hole smaller), sleeve caps (the curved part at the top of a sleeve), and waistline shaping on fitted garments. Decreases also appear in lace patterns, where they pair with yarn overs to create holes and texture.

If a pattern says "K2tog" without extra detail, it means knit two together at the point in the row where the instruction appears. If it says "K2tog at each end of the row," you decrease once at the beginning and once at the end, narrowing the fabric by two stitches total per row.

Right-leaning versus left-leaning decreases

Knit two together creates a right-leaning decrease because the second stitch ends up on top of the first stitch visually. This matters in symmetric shaping — if you're narrowing both sides of a sweater body, one side usually gets K2tog (right-leaning) and the other gets slip-slip-knit or SSK (left-leaning), so the decreases mirror each other.

If your pattern doesn't specify which decrease to use, K2tog is the default. But if it says "SSK" or "slip-slip-knit," you need to do that instead. SSK involves slipping two stitches knitwise one at a time, then inserting the left needle through them and knitting them together — it takes longer to learn but creates the opposite lean.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

The most frequent error is inserting the right needle through only one stitch by accident, then knitting it, then trying to knit the second stitch separately. This breaks the decrease and throws off your stitch count. If you notice it in the same row, tink back to the mistake, reposition your needle through both stitches, and continue. If you don't notice until later, you may need to tink back several rows.

Another mistake is wrapping the yarn before inserting through both stitches. This creates a twisted stitch or splits the yarn. The insertion and the wrap should happen in that order: needle through both stitches first, then wrap, then pull through.

Tension can also suffer if you pull too hard on the yarn after the decrease. The new stitch should be snug but not strangled. If your decreases look tight and distorted compared to the rest of the fabric, ease up on the pull-through.

Practicing the decrease on a swatch

Before you use K2tog on a real project, knit a small swatch — about 20 stitches wide and 30 rows tall — and practice decreasing. Cast on, knit a few rows, then on one row, knit 5 stitches, K2tog, knit 5 stitches, K2tog, knit to the end. This gives you two decreases to practice in one row and shows you how the fabric narrows.

Repeat this decrease row every other row for several rows. You'll see the fabric get narrower and develop a diagonal line where each decrease sits. This visual feedback helps you understand what the stitch is supposed to look like and builds muscle memory for the motion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I knit two together on the purl side of the fabric?

Yes. On a purl row, insert your right needle through two stitches from right to left (the purl direction), wrap the yarn, and pull through both stitches. This is called purl two together or P2tog. It creates the same right-leaning decrease but on the reverse side of the fabric.

What's the difference between K2tog and SSK?

K2tog leans right; SSK leans left. Both decrease by one stitch. Use K2tog when the pattern says K2tog or when you want a right-leaning decrease. Use SSK when the pattern specifies it or when you need a left-leaning decrease to mirror a K2tog on the opposite side of the garment.

Do I count the new stitch after a decrease?

Yes. If you cast on 20 stitches and knit two together once, you now have 19 stitches. The new stitch counts as one stitch for the rest of the row and all future rows. Keep track of your stitch count as you work, especially in shaping rows where decreases happen multiple times.

What if I accidentally knit two together when the pattern didn't call for it?

Your stitch count will be one less than the pattern expects. If you catch it in the same row, tink back and redo it. If you don't notice until later, you can either tink back several rows or continue and adjust the final row to match the pattern's stitch count, though this may affect the fit of the finished piece.