How to knit the KLL increase (knit left loop)

A step-by-step tutorial for the KLL knitting increase. A super invisible right-leaning increase.

A lot of increases are very visible. When you are knitting a lace shawl, then this is actually what you are looking for as those beautiful eyelets are created that way. But for stockinette stitch and similar patterns, make one right or a yarnover is not what you want.

By knitting through the left loop of the stitch two rows below, you get an increase that is as invisible as it gets. Here’s how you do it the continental way.

ⓘ In knitting patterns, this stitch is usually abbreviated with “KLL” – Knit left loop. This increase is sometimes also called LLI – left lifted increase. There is also a left-leaning counterpart called KRL or knit right loop. The corresponding purl decrease is PRL.

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I personally love how invisible KLL is if you use it sparingly. Even if you know it’s there, it’s sometimes hard to see and that’s why I would recommend using it in these kinds of circumstances where you don’t increase in a set position each row or so.

But even if you stack the increases on top of each other, the increase line is still much neater than other more common stitches. Just take a look at the swatch above. While M1L creates small little eyelets, KLL creates dense fabric pretty that harmonizes well with the overall look and feel of stockinette stitch.

Which way does KLL lean?

You probably know there are left and right-leaning increases. So, in which category does KLL fall? Well, that’s actually quite a difficult question. If you look at the swatch above it’s actually really hard to tell. Most books will categorize KLL as a right-leaning decrease.

Under magnification, you can clearly see how one of the stitches involved in the KLL appears to have a clear right-slant. But I see it a bit differently. Because of the mechanics of the stitch, it means you always add a stitch on the left side of it. That and only that is why I employ it on the right side of a project.

I feel the actual stitch itself is pretty unbiased. If you look even closer at a KLL, you could also say that the base-loop you knit it through ends up with a left-stant. I personally feel the increase is pretty centered.

Just one of the reasons why I love this increase so much. If you look around my blog and check out my knitting patterns (especially my mushrooms and flowers), you will soon realize that I use it for almost every project.

That being said, be aware that because KLL makes use of the stitch one row below and thus it tends to “cinch” the fabric a bit. That’s because each decrease shortens the fabric a tiny bit in that position. This means it’s not the ideal increase for projects where you want a symmetrical triangle (like a shawl). Check out my list of knitting increases in case you want to see a comparison. And I also got an article about 3 other lifted increases.

However, that effect is not necessarily bad. A lot of projects, like my very popular pumpkin pattern, use KLL to get a lovely 3-dimensional shape exactly because it shortens the stitches a bit in a very predictable way.

And that’s how to KLL in knitting the continental way. Comment below in case you have any questions.