How to Knit Increase Stitches

Whenever you see a pattern with the abbreviation "inc" it means you will need to increase the number of stitches in your knit row. There are several different types of ways to increase the number of stitches in a row, but if the pattern does not specify, you should try a yarn over technique. Here's how you can increase the number of stitches while you knit.

Instructions

1. Decide where to put your increase stitches. If the pattern does not tell you exactly where along the knit row to include the increase stitches, consider your options. If you put increase stitches on one side or another, it will cause that side of your knit piece to fan out. If you even out the spacing of your increases, your piece will become uniformly large.

2. Begin on the knit side of your garment. This means that the V-shape of the knit stitches should be facing you, and you the row you are working on includes knit stitches.

3. Wrap the yarn over your right hand needle. Simply move the loose yarn from the front to the back of your right hand needle, and you've increased the stitches in your row by one.

4. Knit the next stitch normally. Never put 2 increase stitches immediately next to one another. They should always be separated by a knit stitch.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are to increase a garment by more a number of than 20 percent of the stitches in your original row, you should space them out along your row. If you will increase a number of stitches less than 20 percent of the number of stitches in your row, you can put them on the right or left side of your row without causing your garment to curl.