How to Do the Slip Slip Knitting Stitch

A beginner-friendly SSK stitch knitting tutorial

Co-authored by Katarzyna Kapuścińska

Last Updated: April 21, 2025 Approved

"Slip Slip Knit", or SSK, is a term often found in knitting patterns. It's a common tool used to decrease two stitches on a stitch while knitting a row.^{[1]
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Expert Source

Katarzyna Kapuścińska
Crochet Expert

Expert Interview} Before learning the slip slip knit stitch, you should be familiar with the knit stitch and the slip stitch.

Knitting SSK: Overview

Knit as usual until it’s time to decrease.
Slip 2 stitches onto the right needle (knit-wise, not purl-wise).
Slip the left needle through the slipped stitches so it’s in front of the right needle.
Pick up the yarn from behind the needles as if you are knitting.
Knit the 2 stitches, slipping the finished stitch onto the right needle.

Steps

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1
Knit the stitches until the point where the pattern tells you to decrease.
2
Slip two stitches knit wise onto the right needle. The image below shows the knitter slipping the first stitch knit wise.

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3
Remember––slipping means simply transferring the stitches from the left needle to the right.^{[2]
X
Expert Source

Katarzyna Kapuścińska
Crochet Expert

Expert Interview} Slip the needle in as if you intend to knit, but do not pull the yarn through. Make sure you are slipping as if you are knitting, by placing the needle at the back of the stitch (slipping knit wise). (If you place the needle in the front of the stitch as if you are purling, this is slipping purl wise.) The image below shows two finished slipped stitched.
4
Slip the left needle through both of the slipped stitches on the right needle, so that the left needle is in front and the right in back, as if you are going to knit.
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Pick up the yarn from behind the needles. Pull it between them as if you are knitting.
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Knit the two stitches. Pull the needle through as if you are knitting and slip the finished stitch off the left needle onto the right.
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Voila! You've just decreased with SSK. Two stitches have become one.

Community Q&A

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Question

Is this similar to knitting two together?

Community Answer

Knitting two together is a right-slanting decrease, and slip-slip is a left-slanting decrease.

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Question

What are slip stitches with yarn in front?

Michele

Top Answerer

There are two types of slip stitches. One where you move the working yarn to the front, then slip the stitch on the left needle to the right needle and one where you hold the working yarn in the back before slipping the stitch. You might do one or the other depending on if you want the slip on the front of your project, on the back, or both. The Linen stitch does this by alternating on which side the yarn is held. When working the right side, the yarn is held in front and when working the wrong side, it's held in back. However, for a slip, slip, knit as in this article, the yarn is usually held in the back.

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Question

How else can I slip?

Eye of the liger

Community Answer

There is also a "slip as to purl", meaning you insert the needle as you woukd for a purl stitch. However, I don't think that works for SSK.

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