How to Do the Knit Stitch: Step-by-Step for Absolute Beginners (Videos Included!)

The knit stitch is the very first stitch most beginners learn, and for good reason. It’s the foundation of many simple stitch patterns (like garter stitch) and it’s one of the two core stitches every knitter needs to master. Once you understand how to make a knit stitch smoothly and consistently, you’ll be ready for your first real project.

In this simple tutorial, you’ll learn how to knit stitch both English style and Continental style, so you can choose whichever feels most natural in your hands.

What You Need Before You Start:

• A pair of knitting needles

• Any smooth, light-coloured yarn

• A cast-on row already on your needle (long-tail or knitted cast on works well)

If you’re not sure how to cast on yet, work through my Knitted Cast On Tutorial first!

How to Knit Stitch English Style

English knitting is often called throwing, because the working yarn (the yarn you use to create new stitches) is held in the right hand.

1. Hold the needle with the cast-on stitches in your left hand and hold the working yarn so that it is behind the needles (be sure to hold the yarn in your right hand).

2. Insert the right needle into the first stitch, pointing rightwards with the tip, and push the needle through the center of that stitch from front to back.

3. Keeping your needle through the stitch and wrap the working yarn anticlockwise around the right needle tip now visible at the back.

4. Pull the stretch of wrapped yarn through the middle of left-needle stitch using the tip of your right needle. To do this, you will need to hold your working yarn relatively taught/tight so that it's easier to pull through.

5. Using the right hand needle, slide it to the right and this will slip the old stitch off the left needle. Be careful not to slip the next-to-be worked stitches off the needle!

6. You now have a new knit stitch on the right needle.

7. Repeat until you reach the end of the row.

How to Knit Stitch Continental Style

Continental knitting is sometimes called picking. You hold the working yarn in your left hand, and the right needle “hooks” it.

1. Hold the needle with the cast-on stitches in your left hand and, using the same hand, hold the working yarn so that it is behind the needles.

2. Insert the right needle from front to back into the center of the first stitch on your left-hand needle.

3. Make sure you have positioned the left-hand yarn so it is just behind and slightly above the left-hand needle.

4. Use the tip of the right needle, moving the needle slightly up to the right and then backwards around the stretch of yarn. You make this movement as if to 'catch' the yarn.

5. Pull the 'caught' yarn towards the left-hand needle and through the center of the stitch you are knitting.

6. Slip the old stitch off the left needle.

7. Continue across your row of stitches.

This is not the style I knit in and honestly speaking when I try, I'm like Bambi on ice, so it would disingenuous of me to put a tutorial made by me here. Instead, check out this amazing tutorial by Jessica Mcdonald, I used it to learn this style myself!

Tip: Whatever the style you're working, aim to keep your movements small and similar/repetitive each time you work them. Over time, muscle memory will kick in and you’ll find a rhythm.

Common Knit Stitch Problems (and Quick Fixes)

My stitches are too tight

→ Loosen your grip and drop your shoulders. Your fingers should move freely, and your knuckles shouldn't turn white.

→ Another common mistake beginner knitters make it to twist their stitches, which progressively will cause tighter and tighter knitting. To avoid twisted stitches, knit through the front of the stitch, not the back!

My rows look uneven

→ Practise keeping your movements small and consistent. Uneven tension is totally normal at first and will get better over your first few projects.

My yarn keeps slipping on my needles

→ Try using wooden or bamboo needles; they grip the yarn more easily than metal.

Looking for other tips on how to improve your knit stitches?

Check out the 'Tips' section of my blog post on knit vs. purl stitches!

What to Learn Next:

• How to Do the Purl Stitch: Step-by-Step Beginner Tutorial

• How to Increase in Knitting: A Must-Read Beginner Knitters Guide

• How to Decrease in Knitting: An Essential Beginner’s Guide