How To Knit

Step 6 More Stuff

Some useful terms:

• Garter Stitch: when you knit a row, and turn and knit again, instead of purling. This makes a crosswise ribbing that has a lot of vertical stretch. The first pic shows a few rows of garter stitch.
• Stockinette Stitch: when you knit a row, and turn and then purl a row. Most things are made this way, it's got all the knit-looking stitches one one side and all the purl-looking stitches on the other.
• Ribbing: A vertical alternation of knits and purls. Commonly found on the edges of sweaters - wrist, hem, neckline. I don't have a picture of this yet but you probably have examples around the house.
• Dropped stitch: this is actually a mistake, when you slip a stitch off the left-side needle without already having pulled another loop through it. If you notice you've done this, stop and go back to fix it as it will cause a run, or ladder - it'll unravel a row all the way down.
• Decreasing: the general case of casting off. Usually this is used when you don't want to finish off all the stitches, but just some, as when you're working a curved edge like a neckline.

Happy Knitting!