This week, I am going to cover various knitting terms that every experienced knitted should know. You will come across these terms in various patterns so it would be good for you to be familiar with them.

Blocking: a technique used to prepare your completed knitted piece so it will hold the desired shape.

Boucle: two yarns plied at different tensions, held in place by another yarn, thereby forming small loops.

Cable stitches: selected stitches that have been twisted around each other to make a rope-like design.

Circular needles: two knitting needles attached by a cord.

Dye lots: the number assigned to a color made from yarn colors that were dyed together.

Elasticity: the ability to retain size and shape after stretching.

Intarsia: a multiple-color technique in which blocks of color are worked using separate balls of yarn.

Knitting in the round: the process of knitting tubular-shaped items, such as socks, mittens, hats and sweaters.

Natural fibers: fibers that come from either plants or animals.

Pilling: the matting of yarn or formation of yarn into little balls.

Plied: when strands of yarn are joined together by twisting.

Ply: the number of strands that a yarn is composed of; 2 ply, 3 ply, etc.

Skein: yarn that has been wound so the inner strand can be pulled from the center.

U. S. size: United States needle sizes that range from a very thin 0000 to a very thick 35.

Weight: the actual weight of a skein or ball of yarn, usually given in ounces or grams.

Worsted: yarn spun from longer fibers that have been combed to lie parallel. Often in the United States, worsted yarn refers to a medium weight yarn.

We will continue with more knitting terms next week.

If at any time, you have a question or are stuck on a project, feel free to contact me at my email address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and I will be happy to help you.

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