# How to Knit Two Together (k2tog), Step by Step https://rowandround.app/guides/knitting/how-to-knit-two-together-k2tog · Knitting; published 2026-11-01, updated 2026-11-01 · Kallos Labs > To k2tog, put the right needle knitwise through two stitches, wrap the yarn and knit them as one. You end up with one stitch fewer, and it leans right. To k2tog, short for knit two together, you put the right needle through two stitches at once and knit them as one. You finish with one stitch fewer on the needle, and the decrease leans to the right. It is the most common way to shape a hat crown, a sleeve or a shoulder. If you are new to shaping, the rest of our [knitting guides](https://rowandround.app/guides/knitting) build on this stitch. ## How do you knit two together? Insert the right needle into the next two stitches on the left needle, knitwise, from left to right. Wrap the yarn around the right needle tip, pull the loop through both stitches, and slip both off the left needle. One stitch is left on the right needle. [Lantern Moon describes the same motion](https://www.lanternmoon.com/blogs/blog-post/how-to-knit-two-together) in the same order. Here are the steps at the needles: 1. Work to the place where the pattern says k2tog. 2. Slide the right needle knitwise through the front loops of the next two stitches. The needle crosses both of them. 3. Wrap the yarn around the right needle tip the way you do for a normal knit stitch. 4. Draw that loop through both stitches. 5. Let both old stitches slip off the left needle. [New Stitch A Day](https://newstitchaday.com/knit-two-together-decrease/) suggests pinching the two needles together as you wrap, which keeps the stitches from sliding off early. If the two stitches feel tight, nudge them to the tip of the left needle before you go in. ### Check your count Two stitches became one, so you have one fewer than before. If your pattern gives a stitch count at the end of the row, subtract one for every k2tog you worked. A count that's one off usually means a k2tog was missed or worked twice. ## Which way does k2tog lean? K2tog is a right-leaning decrease. [Wikipedia's page on knitting decreases](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decrease_(knitting)) lists it as the right-leaning one, and Lantern Moon adds that the decrease slants up and to the right, with the left stitch lying on top and the right stitch hidden underneath. Lean matters most where the shaping shows. On a sleeve, a neckline or a raglan line, the slant of each decrease becomes a visible line. A hidden decrease in a rib or a gathered crown matters less. ## k2tog or ssk? SSK (slip, slip, knit) is the left-leaning counterpart. It also removes one stitch, but it slants the other way. The two are used together so shaping looks balanced: for example, k2tog on one side of a centre and ssk on the other. Don't swap them by accident. Both read as "knit two stitches as one" at a glance, yet they lean in opposite directions. When a pattern asks for one on each side of a section, work k2tog at the right end of the shaping and ssk at the left end, as the pattern directs. ## How do you read k2tog in a pattern? Look in the pattern's abbreviation list first. Lantern Moon notes that k2tog may appear as k2tog, K2TOG or knit two together, and they all mean the same thing. Here is a generic example from a scarf: "Row 12 (RS): k2, k2tog, seed st to last 4, ssk, k2". Read it left to right. Knit two stitches, work one k2tog, work seed stitch until four stitches remain, work one ssk, then knit the last two. The row has two decreases, so you finish it two stitches down from where you started. Crocheters have a similar move, a decrease worked over two stitches, but the name and the steps are different. Read your pattern's own abbreviations and notes for that. ## What mistakes should you watch for? Most trouble with this stitch comes from a few habits. Each is easy to fix once you spot it. - Going through only one stitch. The needle must enter both stitches before you wrap. If you wrap early, you have knit one and left the other. - Going in purlwise. The needle should go in knitwise, from left to right, as in the steps above. Entering the other way is a different move from k2tog. - Decreasing right at the edge. Lantern Moon advises placing decreases in the middle of the row or round, since decreases at the start or end can change how the edge looks. - Losing track of how many you have done. Shaping often repeats every 4th or 6th row, and it is easy to miss one. ## Try it Cast on twelve stitches in any yarn, knit a few rows, then work "k3, k2tog, k to end" on a right-side row and count the stitches after. You should have eleven. Repeat it on the next right-side row and you will see the right-leaning slant stack up along the edge. When a pattern repeats a decrease every few rows, Row & Round's row counter and a bar on your pattern's row help you keep your place, so you know whether this is a decrease row. The app is coming soon to iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. If you read patterns on your phone, our guide on [reading a pattern line](https://rowandround.app/guides/reading-patterns) covers the other abbreviations you will meet beside k2tog, and the [row counter feature page](https://rowandround.app/features/row-counter) shows how counting works. ## Bottom line K2tog is one move: through two stitches, wrap, pull through, slip both off. It removes one stitch and leans right, so pair it with ssk when shaping needs to look even. Count your stitches after each decrease row and you will stay on pattern. If a row ever ends with the wrong number, go back to the last row you counted and check each k2tog on the way. ## Questions ### Does k2tog lean left or right? Right. The decrease slants up and to the right. Its mirror image is ssk, which leans left, and the two are used as a pair. ### How many stitches does k2tog remove? One. Two stitches go in and one comes out, so each k2tog lowers your count by one. ### What does k2tog mean in a pattern? It stands for knit two together: work the next two stitches on the left needle as if they were one. Some patterns write it as K2TOG or spell it out. ### Should I put a decrease at the very start or end of a row? Be careful. A decrease at the edge can change how the edge looks, so many knitters place decreases a stitch or two in. Follow your pattern's wording. ## Sources - [Wikipedia: Decrease (knitting)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decrease_(knitting)) - [New Stitch A Day: How to Knit The Knit Two Together Decrease (k2tog)](https://newstitchaday.com/knit-two-together-decrease/) - [Lantern Moon: How to knit two together](https://www.lanternmoon.com/blogs/blog-post/how-to-knit-two-together)