How to Knit a Moss Stitch

The moss stitch is one of the most basic stitches in knitting. This pattern is done by alternating a knit and purl stitch in every row. Moss stitches come in two versions, British and American.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Two knitting needles
• Ball or skein of yarn

Learn How to Do a British Moss Stitch

1. Cast on an even number of stitches.

2. Knit one, purl one and repeat this pattern to the end of the row.

3. Purl one stitch, then knit one and repeat to the end of the row. This is the second row.

4. Repeat steps two and three until the desired length is obtained.

5. Cast off using a moss stitch.

Learn How to Do an American Moss Stitch

6. Cast on an even number of stitches.

7. Knit one stitch, purl one stitch and repeat until the end of the row.

8. Repeat the sequence in row one for the second row.

9. Purl one stitch, knit one stitch and repeat this sequence until you get to the end of the row.

10. Repeat the sequence in row three to get the fourth row.

11. Repeat steps two through five until the desired length is reached.

12. Cast off using a moss stitch.

Learn How to Do a Moss Stitch Panel

13. Cast on in multiples of eight, plus seven stitches.

14. Knit three stitches, * purl one, knit three and repeat from the asterisk (*) in this step.

15. Purl three stitches, knit one, * purl three and repeat from *.

16. Knit two stitches, purl one, knit one, * (purl one, knit two) twice, purl one, knit one, repeat from *, end purl one and knit two.

17. Purl two stitches, knit one, purl one, *(knit one, purl two) twice, knit one, purl one; repeat once from *, end with knit one and purl two.

18. Knit one stitch, * purl one, knit one and repeat from *.

19. Purl one stitch, * knit one, purl one and repeat from *.

20. Repeat step four.

21. Repeat step five.

22. Repeat step two (or row one).

23. Repeat step three (or row two).

Tips & Warnings

• People relatively new to knitting should try working with brightly colored yarn to see their stitches better.
• Go to Knitting Help to see video demonstrations of moss stitches (see Resources below).
• To knit a moss stitch, you will need knowledge of how to cast on, knit, purl and bind off.
• To change the size of the knitting pattern, keep an even number of stitches and stay in multiples of twos.
• You may see the use of the asterisk (*) in knitting instructions. Some sequences of stitches in individual rows need to be repeated, and the asterisk is the point at which the repeated sequence begins.

Resources

• Knitting Help for video demonstrations