{"title":"How to Knit Seed Stitch","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/knitting/how-to-knit-seed-stitch","category":{"slug":"knitting","name":"Knitting"},"creator":{"name":"Sheep & Stitch","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXK_Yw8hCF-9oeccQP9Gs2g","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfc1D9lAFhI"},"tldr":"Knit seed stitch flat or in the round in 7 photo steps, plus the knit-the-purls hack that replaces the pattern and the slip that turns it into ribbing.","totalDurationSeconds":585,"difficulty":"easy","tools":["bamboo straight knitting needles","circular knitting needles","knitting stitch markers","blunt tapestry needle","small yarn scissors","knitting row counter","blocking mats with T-pins"],"materials":["worsted weight wool yarn","scrap yarn for practice"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Tell a Knit Stitch From a Purl Stitch on the Needle","text":"Look at the fabric before you cast anything on. A knit stitch shows as a flat V sitting in a neat column. A purl stitch shows as a horizontal bump. That is the whole skill. Seed stitch is nothing but knits and purls placed so no bump ever lands on another bump, and you cannot place them if you cannot see them."},{"number":2,"title":"Cast On an Odd Number of Stitches for Flat Seed Stitch","text":"Cast on using whatever method you like. The long tail cast on is what Sheep & Stitch uses here and it gives a tidy, stretchy edge. The count is the part that matters: make it odd. Fifteen stitches is a good practice width. An odd count means the row begins and ends with a knit, which shifts the pattern by one stitch every row without you doing anything."},{"number":3,"title":"Work Knit One Purl One Across the Row to the Last Stitch","text":"Knit the first stitch with the yarn held at the back. Bring the yarn forward between the needle tips and purl the next one. Take it back, knit. Forward, purl. Keep alternating to the last stitch on the left needle, then knit that one. Turn the work and run the identical row again. This single row is the entire flat pattern."},{"number":4,"title":"Check the Finished Seed Stitch Panel for Scattered Bumps","text":"After a few rows, spread the fabric along the needle and look at it. You want bumps scattered in a checkerboard, each one sitting directly above a flat V. If instead you see bumps lined up in vertical columns, you have drifted into ribbing and a row got started on the wrong stitch. Back up to the last correct row rather than fudging it forward."},{"number":5,"title":"Cast On an Even Number and Place a Marker to Work in the Round","text":"Working a tube changes the count. Cast on an even number of stitches onto a circular needle, join without twisting, and slide a stitch marker onto the right needle tip to mark the start of the round. In the round there is no turn at the end of a row, so the offset has to come from you alternating the rounds instead."},{"number":6,"title":"Alternate the Rounds So No Bump Lands on Another Bump","text":"Round one is knit one, purl one, the whole way around to the marker. Round two flips it: purl one, knit one. Keep swapping each time you pass the marker. Work the same round twice and you get one by one rib, which is the same trap as an even cast on when knitting flat."},{"number":7,"title":"Wrap the Yarn Around the Right Needle Tip to Form Each Stitch","text":"The mechanics do not change in the round. Yarn to the back and wrap for a knit, yarn to the front and wrap for a purl, moving it between the tips each time. Work all the way around to the marker, flip which stitch you start with, and keep going. Bind off in pattern once the tube is as long as you want it."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-09-22T15:06:42.601Z","published":"2026-09-22T14:50:26.419Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}