Five increases cover almost every shaping situation in knitting, and Stephen West uses all of them across his Westknits patterns. Some are decorative. Some vanish into stockinette. Picking the right one is the difference between a shaping line you can spot from across the room and one nobody will ever see. This tutorial walks through KFB, yarn over, backwards loop M1, M1L and M1R, and make one from the row below - what each looks like, and when to reach for it.
You need to be comfortable with the knit and purl stitches first. Every increase here is a small twist on one of them.
The common increases compared
| Increase | How visible | Lean | Where patterns use it |
|---|
| KFB | Small bar under the new stitch | None | Garter, seed stitch, edges |
| Yarn over (YO) | A hole, on purpose | None | Lace, shawls, eyelet rows |
| M1L | Near invisible | Left | Raglans, sleeve shaping |
| M1R | Near invisible | Right | Paired with M1L |
| Backwards loop M1 | Low, can look loose | Slight | Quick yoke increases |
If a pattern says "M1" and nothing else, most designers mean M1L. Check the abbreviations page to be sure.
Reading increase instructions in a pattern
Patterns write increases a few ways. "Inc 1" or "inc" means add one stitch, and the pattern leaves the method to you. "KFB" and "M1" name the method. "M1L" and "M1R" name the method and the lean. "YO" is a yarn over, and you will usually see it next to a decrease like k2tog so the stitch count stays level.
Look for the stitch count in brackets at the end of an increase row, like "(66 sts)". Count your stitches against it before you start the next row. It takes a minute and saves a lot of tinking. The full breakdown of abbreviations lives in how to read a knitting pattern.
Spacing increases evenly across a row
Say you have 60 stitches and the pattern says "increase 6 sts evenly across." Divide 60 by 6 and you get 10. So you place one increase every 10 stitches.
- With M1: (k10, M1) six times. 66 stitches.
- With KFB: (k9, kfb) six times. KFB uses up a stitch, so you knit one fewer before it.
If the numbers do not divide cleanly, spread the leftovers out. 62 stitches and 6 increases? Work (k10, M1) four times, then (k11, M1) twice. Nobody will ever see the difference.
Common increase mistakes
- A hole where you did not want one. You picked up the ladder for M1 but did not twist it. Knit it through the back loop (M1L) or front (M1R) so it closes.
- Twisted stitches on the next row. A yarn over knitted through the back closes up. Knit it through the front loop.
- Wrong stitch count. Usually a yarn over that slipped off the needle, or a KFB worked as a plain knit. Place a stitch marker at each increase point and count between them.
- Increases leaning the wrong way. M1L and M1R are mirror images. Swap them and the shaping line looks ragged instead of crisp.
Increases have a mirror image in decreasing in knitting - k2tog and ssk lean the same two ways. When you want a project to practise both, a knitted scarf or a hat crown gets you there fast.
