k2tog — Knit 2 stitches together (Abbreviation)
k2tog stands for "knit 2 together" — a right-leaning single decrease worked by inserting the right needle through two stitches at once (instead of one) and knitting them together as if they were a single stitch. The result is one stitch where there were two, and the resulting stitch leans slightly to the right on the finished fabric, because the second (rightmost) stitch ends up on top.
How to work it
Insert the right-hand needle knitwise through the next two stitches on the left needle at the same time, wrap the working yarn as you would for an ordinary knit stitch, and pull the new loop through both stitches together. Slip both original stitches off the left needle. You've turned two stitches into one, decreasing your total stitch count by one.
Why the direction matters
k2tog leans right; its mirror, ssk (slip, slip, knit), leans left. On their own, either decrease works fine for simple shaping like a hat crown, where the direction isn't visually paired with anything. But in shaping that's meant to look symmetrical — the two sides of a raglan sleeve, the two edges of a V-neck — using k2tog and ssk on the matching sides (rather than the same decrease on both) is what makes the shaping actually look mirrored rather than subtly lopsided.
Where it shows up
k2tog is the standard decrease used in our Stitch & Row Spacer tool's generated instructions, and it's the more common of the two paired decreases to see written first in most published patterns, with ssk following as its counterpart.
Related abbreviations
- ssk — the left-leaning mirror decrease
- sk2p — a double decrease combining a slip, k2tog, and pass-over
- CDD (centered double decrease) — a double decrease that keeps the resulting stitch centered rather than leaning either direction
FAQ
Does k2tog work the same way in crochet? No — crochet decreases are worked differently (most commonly by leaving loops on the hook and pulling through together), and use separate abbreviations specific to each crochet stitch, like sc2tog.
Can k2tog be worked purlwise? Yes, sometimes written p2tog — the same two-stitches-at-once concept, worked as a purl instead of a knit, for decreasing on a wrong-side row without turning the fabric.