(Warning: Heavy knitting content.)

I knit kind of weird. The most well-known styles of knitting are “English” and “Continental”, but I knit “Combination”. I also knit ambidextrously – so instead of knitting a row then turning the work, I knit a row then knit back with the other hand.

I could go on for a while about knitting styles, but the relevant point is that most instructions for stitches don’t work very well for me. I need to pay close attention to how a stitch is seated and which leg is stitched into. (For example, telling me to ‘knit front leg’ doesn’t mean much to me, unless I also know if you expect the leading leg or the trailing leg to be in front.)

A lot of knitters I know need a reminder of which increase or decrease is which, but a quick google isn’t as helpful for me. So, this is my cheat sheet.

SSK = Slip Slip Knit = Left Slant Decrease \

Leading leg in the back of needle, knit together through the back legs.

K2Tog = Knit Two Together = Right Slant Decrease /

Reseat so leading leg is in the front needle, knit together through the front legs.

M1 = M1L = Make One Left

(Right handed) With the left needle, pickup the bar between stitches from the previous row from front to back, knit into the back (trailing) leg.

M1R = Make One Right

(Right handed) With the left needle, pickup the bar between stitches from the previous row from back to front, knit into the front (trailing) leg.