Garter Stitch: How to Do It Step by Step

Garter Stitch is a knitting stitch that makes reversible ridges, lies flat, squishy, stretches lengthwise. Makers reach for it for scarves, dishcloths, baby blankets, borders that do not curl. It uses about 46 percent more yarn than the base fabric for the same area. It is rated beginner here, so it is a good stitch to learn early and practice on a small swatch before a real project.

1. Cast on any number of stitches. 2. Working flat: knit every stitch of every row. 3. Working in the round: knit one round, then purl one round, and repeat. 4. Count rows by the ridges: each ridge equals two rows. Work slowly for the first few repeats, keep your tension even, and check the result against the steps before continuing across a whole row or motif.

US patterns abbreviate garter stitch as garter st. UK patterns use the same abbreviation, garter st, so this one reads the same on both sides of the Atlantic. Pattern keys list every abbreviation used, usually near the materials list.

The most common problems are: accidentally purling a stitch and creating a bump; adding stitches at the row edge by pulling the yarn over the needle; expecting it to match stockinette gauge. Most are easy to spot if you pause after a few repeats and compare your work with the steps. Good light helps a great deal, especially with dark yarn or thread.

Stitches closely related to garter stitch include Knit Stitch, Stockinette Stitch, Seed Stitch. Learning them together makes patterns easier to read, because many designs switch between related stitches to change texture, height or line. Each has its own step-by-step page in the stitch dictionary.