Ask the SweaterBabe - what is “K0″ and “P0″ in a knitting pattern? [Same answer for crochet patterns]

Posted by Katherine aka SweaterBabe on May 5th, 2007 at 09:09am

Here is a question emailed to me on how to read a knitting pattern:

Dear SweaterBabe,

I am just beginning to learn to knit and while reading a knitting pattern, I came across these stitches “K0″ and “P0″ as stated below:

P1, k1, [PB1, k1] twice, PB1, k5, [PB1, k1] twice, PB1, k0(0, 5, 5), k2, p8, k2, k0(0, 5, 5), PB1, [k1, PB1] twice, k5, PB1, [k1, PB1] twice, k1, p1

K1, p1, [KB1, p1] twice, KB1, p5, [KB1, p1] twice, KB1, p0(0, 5, 5), p2, k8, p2, p0(0, 5, 5), KB1, [p1, KB1] twice, p5, KB1, [p1, KB1] twice, p1, k1

I would be much obliged if you could kindly explain to me what these stitches mean.

Dear Knitter,

This pattern seems to be written for 4 different sizes. Let’s call the sizes X-Small, Small, Medium, and Large. The pattern is giving you the instructions for ALL of the sizes by giving you the instruction for the smallest size, followed by the larger sizes in parentheses.

So, the “k0(0, 5, 5)” that you see means:
k0 or knit 0 sts, i.e. knit zero sts if you are making the X-Small size;
k0 if you are making the Small size;
k5 if you are making the Medium size;
k5 if you are making the Large size.

The best thing to do is to go through the pattern BEFORE you start knitting and use a highlighter to mark all of the instructions that apply for the size you are making. For instance, if you are making size Medium, go through the entire pattern and highlight the 3rd number, i.e. the 2nd number within the parenthese, throughout the pattern. Then, you can easily see which number to follow for your particular size.

Thanks for the great question!

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