Easy Ways to Increase Knitting Stitches

How many different ways to increase knitting stitches do you know?

I feel like most knitters start out with the simple knit in the front and back, also known as kfb, because if you know how to make the knit stitch it’s not that hard to wrap your brain around knitting in the back loop of the same stitch. Kfb is quick and easy, but the bar of that stitch knit through the back loop makes it quite visible when worked on stockinette stitch. It’s less visible on garter stitch.

Using a backward loop cast on to increase stitches is another common way for new knitters to increase, especially if you started knitting by learning this cast on. I don’t actually love backward loop as a cast on for a full project because it’s really loose and floppy and can be hard to work into. (I much prefer the knit cast on for beginners because it’s easy to learn, more stable and once yo know how to do it you know how to knit.)

And then there’s yarn overs. If you want your increase to not only be visible but decorative, yarn overs are the way to go. I love a raglan seam shaped with yarn overs, which offer a little ventilation and decoration. Of course yarn overs can be used for strictly decorative purposes coupled with decreases, but they can also be used to add stitches.

How about make one? These increases are made by working into the yarn that sits between two stitches, and they can be made to lean to the left or the right. (I always, ALWAYS forget which is which and have to look it up every time.)

You’d think that would be enough, but there are actually even more options for increasing knitting stitches you might want to know about. This post from Nimble Needles provides an overview of more than a dozen different kinds of increases. Some of them are used in very particular situations like brioche knitting or stacked stitches, but there are plenty of them that you can use in your everyday knitting.

I’m definitely going to try the make two (pictured above) soon; I’d never heard of that one!

See any new to you increase options?

[Photo: Nimble Needle.]

Increases and Decreases for Lace Knitting

Your Quick Reference Guide to Common Increases and Decreases

How Do You Read a Knitting Pattern?

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork.

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn.

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look.

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me.

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round.

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.

Have you read?