Short rows are a great technique to insert extra rows into only part of a garment or object. They're often used while knitting in the round to raise the back of a sweater or neckline and to create curvature for heels (and other curvy body parts). They might seem intimidating, but don't let that stop you - if you can knit & purl, you can work short rows. Here’s a quick overview:

There are two parts to short rows:

1. How you turn the work

2. How (& when) you resolve the short rows

Turning the Work

There are different styles of short rows, some of which include wrap & turn, German short rows, Japanese short rows, and yarnover short rows. People have many different (and strongly held!) opinions on what the best short rows are, but here, we'll talk about wrap & turn to keep things simple. If there’s a short row technique you like better, by all means do that one!

We often use "wrap & turn." This involves wrapping the working yarn around the next stitch when turning your work. Think of it like an anchor, to keep things snug and prevent a hole from forming. Wrap & turns are used on both knit rows and purl rows. Here's how.

Wrap & Turn when knitting:

Wrap & Turn when Purling

Resolving the Wrapped Stitches

Sometimes, wrapped stitches aren’t resolved, you’ll just carry on working and ignore them. For those who knit Tina the Tiny T-rex in Knitrino, this was the case. But most of the time, we “resolve” the wrapped stitch by working the wrap together with the wrapped stitch. This keeps everything snug and hides the wrap so it's less visible in your work. Often, wrapped stitches are resolved as knit stitches and purl stitches. Here's how:

Resolve as Knit

Resolve as Purl

Sometimes, like on Sock Heels, you may resolve the wrapped stitch and decrease at the same time. We refer to this as resolving as Slip Slip Knit (SSK) and resolving as Purl 2 Together (P2tog).

Resolve as SSK

Resolve as P2Tog

And then there are the times you have to resolve as a knit stitch a wrapped stitch that was wrapped on a purl row - this happens a lot with sweaters. You scour the internet looking for the right video, but never find it. BEHOLD! We refer to this technique as “Resolve as Knit Through The Back Loop (ktbl).”

Give Short Rows a Try

Want to put it into practice? Here are a few of our favorite patterns that use short rows (click the image from your phone to be taken to the pattern in Knitrino.) Best of all, every Knitrino pattern comes with full support, so if you have a question, we’re here!