Convert a Knitting Pattern to Plain English
Paste your pattern below, or upload it as a .txt or PDF file. Every abbreviation gets expanded, and shorthand like *k2, p2; rep from * gets explained as a step you can actually follow.
Your pattern never leaves your device — the conversion runs entirely in your browser.
Your pattern
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In plain English
Your converted pattern will appear here. Not sure what a single abbreviation means? Browse the glossary.
How to read a knitting pattern
Knitting patterns are written in shorthand to keep them short, which is wonderful once you know the code and impossible before you do. There are two separate things to decode: the abbreviations themselves (k2tog, ssk, yo), and the structure that tells you how many times to work them.
An asterisk marks the start of a section you'll repeat. Brackets group stitches worked together a set number of times. A number in parentheses at the end of a row, like (24 sts), is a checkpoint — count your stitches, and if you have 24, you're on track.
This converter explains repeats rather than writing them out stitch by stitch. Working out how many times a repeat happens needs to know how many stitches are on your needle, and patterns don't always say — so spelling it out would mean guessing, and a confident wrong number is worse than no number.
Looking up just one abbreviation?
The glossary has plain-English definitions for 119 knitting abbreviations, each on its own page.
Not sure what an abbreviation means? Browse the glossary →