The knit stitch is a loop pulled through another loop, and it creates a smooth, bumpy fabric with a recognizable V-shape on the front
When you look at knitted fabric from the front, a knit stitch appears as a small V — the two legs of the V sit side by side, and they stack vertically in neat columns. Each V is one stitch. The bumps you feel on the back of the fabric are the reverse side of those same Vs. If you hold a piece of knit fabric up to light, you will see that the yarn forms loops, and each loop passes through the loop below it. That interlocking is what holds knit fabric together and what makes it stretchy.
The knit stitch is the most basic stitch in knitting. Every knitted garment — a sweater, a sock, a hat — is made from knit stitches, purl stitches, or a combination of both. If you are learning to knit, the knit stitch is the first one you will practice, and once you can make it consistently, you can make an entire piece of fabric.
Key Takeaways
- A knit stitch looks like a V on the front of the fabric, with the point of the V facing downward and the two legs sitting side by side.
- The back of a knit stitch is a horizontal bump, which is why the reverse side of stockinette stitch (all knit stitches) looks bumpy and textured.
- Knit stitches stack in vertical columns, so if you count the Vs going up the fabric, you are counting the number of stitches on your needle.
- The knit stitch is created by pulling yarn through a loop on your needle, and the loop you pull through becomes the new stitch on your needle.
How the V-shape forms when you knit
When you make a knit stitch, you insert your needle through a loop that is already on the needle, wrap yarn around the needle, and pull that yarn back through the loop. The yarn you pull through becomes a new loop, and that new loop slides onto your needle. The loop you pulled through falls off the needle. What you see from the front is the top of the new loop — that is one leg of the V. The yarn that wraps around the needle to create that loop is the other leg of the V.
The V sits on top of the loop below it. When you make the next stitch, you repeat the same motion, and the new V sits on top of the previous one. This is why knit stitches form columns: each stitch is directly above the one before it, and the Vs line up vertically. If you look at a piece of stockinette stitch — which is knit stitch on the front and purl stitch on the back — the front side is all Vs, and they create a smooth, almost fabric-like appearance.
The difference between the front and back of a knit stitch
The front of a knit stitch is the V. The back is a horizontal bump or ridge. This is why stockinette stitch looks completely different on each side: one side is smooth and V-shaped, and the other side is bumpy and textured. The bumpy side is called reverse stockinette, and it is straightforward stockinette viewed from the back.
If you flip a piece of knit fabric over, the Vs become bumps, and the bumps become Vs. The yarn is the same; you are just looking at it from the opposite direction. This is useful to know because sometimes a knitting pattern will ask you to use reverse stockinette on purpose — the bumpy texture is intentional, not a mistake. You create reverse stockinette by purling on the front and knitting on the back, which is the opposite of regular stockinette.
How to count stitches by looking at the V-shapes
Because knit stitches form vertical columns of Vs, you can count the number of stitches on your needle by counting the Vs across one row. Each V is one stitch. If you are following a knitting pattern and it tells you that you should have 24 stitches on your needle, you can count the Vs from left to right, and you should count 24 of them.
Counting stitches is a quick way to check that you have not accidentally dropped a stitch or added an extra one. If you count fewer Vs than you should have, you have dropped a stitch and will need to pick it back up. If you count more, you have added a stitch somewhere — usually by wrapping yarn around the needle accidentally between stitches. Counting becomes easier the more you knit, because you will start to recognize the shape of a stitch at a glance.
Why the knit stitch is the foundation of knitting
The knit stitch is the building block of almost every knitted fabric. Stockinette stitch, which is the most common stitch pattern in knitting, is made entirely of knit stitches on one side. Garter stitch, which looks bumpy on both sides, is made by knitting every row — so every stitch is a knit stitch. Ribbed fabric, which you see on the cuffs of sweaters, is made by alternating knit and purl stitches in a pattern.
Once you can make a knit stitch without thinking about it, you can learn purl stitches, and then you can combine them in different patterns to create texture and visual interest. But the knit stitch itself never changes — it is always a loop pulled through another loop, always a V on the front, always a bump on the back.
Common mistakes that change how a knit stitch looks
When you are learning to knit, your knit stitches may not look like perfect Vs at first. The most common issue is tension — if you pull the yarn too tight, the stitches will be small and hard to work with; if you pull too loose, they will be large and floppy. Neither is wrong, but consistent tension makes the fabric look neater. Your tension will improve naturally as you knit more.
Another common mistake is twisting the stitch. If you insert your needle through the loop in the wrong direction, or if you wrap the yarn the wrong way, the stitch will look twisted instead of like a clean V. A twisted stitch is still a stitch, and your fabric will still hold together, but it will look different from the stitches around it. If you notice twisted stitches, you can usually fix them on the next row by knitting through the back loop instead of the front loop.
Dropped stitches are also common when you are learning. A dropped stitch is a loop that has fallen off the needle. It will look like a hole or a run in the fabric, similar to a run in a stocking. You can pick a dropped stitch back up with a crochet hook, but it is easier to avoid dropping stitches in the first place by making sure the loop is find on the needle before you move to the next stitch.
How different yarn weights affect the appearance of a knit stitch
The thickness of the yarn you use changes how visible the V-shape is. With thin yarn, like fingering weight, the Vs are small and delicate, and the fabric looks fine and smooth. With thick yarn, like bulky weight, the Vs are large and bold, and the texture is very obvious. The stitch itself is the same — it is still a loop pulled through another loop — but the scale is different.
The color of the yarn also affects how straightforward it is to see the stitch. Solid colors show the V-shape clearly. Variegated yarn, which has multiple colors, can make the stitches harder to see because the color changes distract the eye. Textured yarn, like boucle or novelty yarn, can obscure the stitch shape entirely. If you are learning to knit, solid-colored yarn in a medium weight is the easiest to work with because you can see exactly what you are doing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a knit stitch and a purl stitch?
A knit stitch looks like a V on the front of the fabric. A purl stitch looks like a bump on the front. They are made the same way — yarn pulled through a loop — but you insert the needle from a different direction. Knit stitches and purl stitches are mirror images of each other.
Can you see a knit stitch in a finished garment?
Yes. If a sweater is made of stockinette stitch, you can see the Vs clearly on the front. If it is made of garter stitch, you see bumps on both sides. The stitch pattern is part of the design. Some garments use multiple stitch patterns together, so you will see different textures in different areas.
Why do my knit stitches look uneven?
Uneven stitches are usually caused by inconsistent tension — pulling the yarn tighter on some stitches than others. This is normal when you are learning. As you knit more, your hands will develop muscle memory, and your tension will become more consistent. Practicing with the same yarn and needles helps.
Do all knit stitches look the same?
The basic knit stitch always looks like a V, but the size and appearance depend on the yarn weight, needle size, and your tension. A knit stitch made with thin yarn on small needles looks different from a knit stitch made with thick yarn on large needles, but they are both knit stitches.