Glossary / Slip stitch (knitting)
slSlip stitch (knitting)
Moving a stitch from one needle to the other without working it.
Also written: sl1, sl st (knitting)
How to work it
Insert the right needle into the next stitch and slide it across without wrapping yarn, so the stitch is simply relocated. Unless a pattern says otherwise, slip purlwise when you are just moving a stitch and knitwise when the slip is part of a decrease. Slipped stitches carry the yarn behind or in front to make mosaic colourwork, tidy selvedges, and heel flaps.
Common confusions
Is a knitting slip stitch the same as a crochet slip stitch?
No, and they share nothing but the name. A crochet slip stitch is a real stitch that joins and travels across fabric. A knitting slip stitch makes no new stitch at all; it just moves one stitch to the other needle. Seeing sl st in a pattern means completely different things depending on the craft.
Purlwise or knitwise?
Purlwise by default, because it leaves the stitch sitting the right way round. Slip knitwise only when the pattern says so or when the slip is the first step of a decrease like ssk, where the reorientation is the point. Getting this backwards leaves twisted stitches.
In other languages
| Language | Term | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| English | Slip stitch (knitting) | sl |
| Español | Punto deslizado (dos agujas) | no standard code |
| Deutsch | Masche abheben (Stricken) | abh. |
| Français | Maille glissée (tricot) | no standard code |
| Italiano | Maglia passata (a maglia) | no standard code |
| 日本語 | すべり目（棒針編み） | no standard code |
Related stitches
Keep your place while you work this stitch. Worsted counts your rows and rounds and remembers your spot in the pattern, for crochet and knitting.
Get Worsted