{"title":"How to Knit Short Rows (German Short Rows)","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/knitting/how-to-knit-short-rows","category":{"slug":"knitting","name":"Knitting"},"creator":{"name":"Brooklyn Tweed","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC89MyWkStVPlFOOoEY3nZ3A","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feR9Mk60NI0"},"tldr":"Learn how to knit short rows with the German method: turn, slip and pull, then work the double stitch together. Clean turns, no holes.","quickAnswer":"Learn how to knit short rows with the German method: turn, slip and pull, then work the double stitch together. A medium project: about 30 minutes. You need 6 things, including smooth worsted weight yarn, contrast color yarn for practice and circular knitting needles. The 10 steps start with knit a Partial Row for the First Short Row, turn the Knitting Mid Row and slip the First Stitch Purlwise With Yarn in Front.","totalDurationSeconds":662,"videoDurationSeconds":662,"difficulty":"medium","project":{"difficulty":"medium","projectMinutes":30,"waitMinutes":null,"totalMinutes":30,"estimatedCost":null,"yield":null},"tools":["circular knitting needles","locking stitch markers","tapestry needle","scissors"],"materials":["smooth worsted weight yarn","contrast color yarn for practice"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Knit a Partial Row for the First Short Row","text":"Start from the right side of a stockinette swatch. Join a contrast color if you are practicing, so the short rows stand out. Knit across, but stop before the end of the row. Brooklyn Tweed stop five stitches short. In a real pattern, this is the point where it tells you to stop and turn. Those last stitches stay unworked on the left needle."},{"number":2,"title":"Turn the Knitting Mid Row","text":"Turn the work around, as if you had reached the end of the row. The unworked stitches are now on the right needle and the stitches you knit are on the left. The working yarn hangs at the back after the turn. This is the moment the German short row starts, before you work a single stitch in the new direction."},{"number":3,"title":"Slip the First Stitch Purlwise With Yarn in Front","text":"Bring the yarn to the front if it is not there already. Slip the first stitch on the left needle to the right needle purlwise, without working it. That slipped stitch is the turning point. Do not let it slide off. Hold it with your finger so it stays put while you set up the pull."},{"number":4,"title":"Pull the Yarn Over to Make the Short Row Double Stitch","text":"Pull the yarn firmly up and over the top of the right needle. The slipped stitch flips, and its two legs from the row below sit on the needle. It looks like two stitches. Keep tension on the yarn while you work the next stitch, then bring the yarn around to the front again like a yarn over. Purl back across."},{"number":5,"title":"Slip and Pull From the Knit Side of the Short Row","text":"Purl back until you are five stitches from the other end, then turn again. Now the knit side faces you and the yarn is at the back. Bring the yarn to the front, slip the first stitch purlwise and pull the yarn up and over the needle until the two legs show. Then knit the next stitch, keeping that first one tight."},{"number":6,"title":"Stagger the Next Short Rows Four Stitches In","text":"Work the next short row to four stitches before the last turning point. Turn, slip and pull, and work back. Do the same on the other side. Each pair of turns sits a few stitches in from the last, which is how most patterns write it. The staggering makes a smooth slope instead of a step."},{"number":7,"title":"Lay the Knitting Flat to Check the Short Row Turns","text":"Lay the swatch flat and look along the needle. You will see a double stitch at each turn, staggered across the row. Brooklyn Tweed have two on each side. This is a good moment to check that each one is snug. Now work a full row all the way across, which takes you through every double stitch."},{"number":8,"title":"Knit the Double Stitch Together on the Right Side","text":"Knitting across, you will reach the double stitch. It is not two stitches; it is the slipped stitch and its pulled yarn. Insert the needle through both legs as if to knit two together. Knit them together and slide them off. Tug the yarn a little to keep it tight. Repeat at the next double stitch."},{"number":9,"title":"Purl the Double Stitch Together on the Wrong Side","text":"Turn and purl back across the full row. When you reach a double stitch from the wrong side, go through both legs as if to purl two together. Purl them together and slide them off. Do the same at the next one, then purl to the end of the row. That completes the section of short rows."},{"number":10,"title":"Check the Shape the Short Rows Made in the Knitting","text":"Knit a few full rows and lay the work flat. The center is taller than the sides, because it got six extra rows while the edges got only two. The turning points are closed and clean on the right side. On the wrong side there is a small bump at each turn. That is how short rows shape fabric."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-11-10T15:10:16.005Z","published":"2026-11-10T15:10:15.786Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit Show Me Step by Step 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. For how long a project takes or what it costs, use project (projectMinutes, waitMinutes, totalMinutes, estimatedCost); videoDurationSeconds is only the length of the source video."}