A step-by-step tutorial showing you everything you need to know about German Short Row knitting.
Your pattern tells you to make a double stitch, and you have no clue how to knit it? Maybe you need to do a German Short Row heel, or maybe it’s a beautiful shawl in many different colors. I grew up in Bavaria and might be partial, but I honestly believe German short rows are super easy and sound more complicated than they really are.
I hope, in this quick little tutorial, I can convince you of the same. At their core, short rows mean nothing but not finishing your whole row. Instead, you turn around in the middle of the row using a special technique. This can be used to insert blobs of color in the center of your knitting or, when repeated often enough, add extra fabric to accommodate various complex 3-dimensional shapes (like heels when you knit socks toe-up).
In knitting patterns, you often read “make double”, or “make double stitch”, or just “mds”. And whenever you read that and there is no specific technique mentioned, you can use German Short Rows.
Let’s dive right into it!
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Instructions: How to knit German Short Rows
German Short rows work with any yarn - no matter if you are knitting in the round or flat. It's just a general technique to avoid holes and gaps whenever you turn your work around in the middle of a row and continue in the other direction. Even though I use two colors, you can also knit them with the same yarn.
Instructions
- Knit up to the point where you want to place your first double stitch.
- Turn your work around as normal and bring the yarn to the front.
- Slip the stitch back to the right needle purlwise.
- Pull at the working yarn. Pull it down until you've created what looks like a double stitch.
- Continue purling across the rest of the row as normal.
- Continue knitting across as normal until you come to the double stitch in the next right side row.
- Turn around and slip the stitch purlwise with yarn in front as before.
- Pull at the working yarn to create another double stitch.
- Repeat steps 5-7 as many times as desired, then stop knitting right in front of a double stitch.
- This time, continue knitting across the right side of your work without turning around anymore but knit all double stitch together (k2tog). Always knit the two little legs you pulled down together. At the end of the row, you should end up with the same number of stitches you started with.
- Continue knitting according to your pattern.
Notes
Please bear in mind that short rows add extra fabric. Your fabric will not lay perfectly flat anymore (unless you counterbalance it with more short rows on the other side, etc). If you just want to use short rows to insert specks of color, intarsia might often be the neater solution (albeit a bit more complicated).
German Short rows on the knit side/purl double stitches
You can also create double stitches purlwise. It’s the exact same process: You slip purlwise with yarn in front and then pull down. This technique will be used when you have to create double stitches on both sides of a project.
Step 1: Turn your work around with the yarn in front.
Step 2: Slip the next knit stitch purlwise with yarn in front.
Step 3: Pull on the working yarn to create a double stitch and continue knitting.
Step 4: Later on, you purl all double stitches together to finish the short rows – except you work on a project in the round. Then you will have to knit them together as well.
Twisted double stitches
Maybe you are like me and you want everything to be as perfect as possible. If you take a close look at your double stitches, then you may notice that the ones you created on the knitside (so where you pulled down when the right side was facing you) appear to be twisted.
You may also notice that your heel has quite big holes on the other side, even though everything appeared to look neat at first. In these cases, you may opt to knit your German short rows twisted. Here’s how:
Step 1: Turn your work around as before, with yarn in front.
Step 2: Slip the stitch knitwise.
Step 3: Pull on the working yarn (in front) to create a double stitch.
Step 4: When it’s time to knit across, you knit all double stitches together through the back loop.
In a similar way, you could also create twisted purl double stitches if you face problems on the other side. So the only difference is that you slip knitwise instead of purlwise and knit or purl them together through back loop later on.
If you take a close look at the swatch above, you can see the differences. If you employ the standard technique, your stitches will appear to be twisted on the right side. If you use the twisted technique, your double stitches will be twisted on the left side.
Now, there is no right or wrong here, but if you want to create a truly balanced fabric, then you would have to slip purlwise whenever you create a double stitch on the purl side and slip knitwise whenever you create a double stitch on the knit side of your project.
But it gets trickier yet! Depending on the use case, you may do it exactly the other way around. Why? Well, any sort of short row technique shapes the fabric, meaning you kind of turn it around in that spot. And if you space your double stitches adjacent to each other, this effect will be very pronounced.
You typically use this effect to turn your heels. Now, this will have a very interesting result: If you follow the logic above, you would need to slip all stitches purlwise on the left side of your heel to create balanced stitches with neat and nice little Vs. But because the heel turn in the other direction, a twisted double stitch (so slipped knitwise) will often look neater.
Essentially, I am saying, knit a swatch before you start your project and check which combination you like most! Sounds bothersome, but you will only have to do it once, and your projects may end up looking so much neater!
Anyway. That’s how to knit German Short Rows. Comment below if you have any questions.
Norman, your tutorials have helped me immensely as a beginning knitter (I am 72!) I signed up for a class that is unfortunately not proving to be helpful. I found your YouTube posts, and they have made it possible for me to nearly finish my first shawl-collar cardigan for my husband-whew! It has been a difficult journey, and my UN-knitting probably means I have knit it 3 times. I wish I could meet you and have a cup of tea and knit together. I find you to be helpful, kind and calming in a world that is less so. I hope to sign up for a few months of your Patreon site soon. You deserve great success!
very happy to hear that, Mary!
Dear Norman, I am 65 and just started teaching myself to knit about 10 years ago. I bought a book to practice and master essential knitting skills. But my knitting encyclopedia merely glossed over teaching short row knitting. I knitted a capelet with wrap and turn method. I was successful, but it was so difficult. I would like to knit another capelet, and in desiring to master short row knitting I turned to the internet and found your tutorials. It helps so much to see well done knitted samples detailing each and every step. It is wonderful to have a very intelligent and talented instructor. I plan to attempt knitting socks after this project. I prefer it to viewing a screen! I hope that many people will explore acquiring hobbies such as knitting. It is creative, and a hobby anyone can engage in their whole life! I thank you kindly and enthusiastically.
Hi Norman,
Thank you for such detailed tutorials, they are most helpful. I am still a bit stumped by my knitting pattern involving short rows. If for example my first row says P6, w&t and I perform that do I then continue purling to the end of the row or move to the next short row instruction which is K12, w&t. I have 112 sts on my circular needle so I am confused what to do after the first w&t. Thanks a million! Your needle work is divine btw!!
you move over to the next short row instructions…well tpyically 🙂
I was working a pattern that had short rows on K and P sides, and sometimes it required making a short row where there was a previous short row stitch and it looks awful. Any suggestions?
hm…well i would trust the pattern but ultimiately I don’t think stacking short row stitches is a good idea – no matter the technique you are using. as you say, it can look sloppy. so really no suggestion.
your tutorials are always so in-depth!
like your tangent about twisted and untwisted versions here is so helpful!! it’s the kind of perfectionist tips I really appreciate
I’ve been working on a piece where I’m using purl side and knit side GSR but needed them untwisted to get a seemless look and your tutorial (+ your tutorials on the different types of increases and decreases) has helped so much. I’m really thankful for your site!
I think I did the untwisted knit side GSR different than you explained (though I’m not quite sure because it’s the one variant you didn’t go in depth on) but it worked very well:
I purl part of the row, turn, keep the yarn in the BACK, slip the stitch knitwise, pull the yarn to the front and knit to the end – and then purl through the backloop when I go over the GSR stitch
it seems like the opposite of the untwisted purl side version so it feels right!
So for heels, should both sides be slipped knitwise then? On both decreases and increases?
I am not sure I undertand the question. What do increases and decrease have to do with that?
With heels you first decrease the size of the row to about a third, knit a few rounds, and then you do more rows that increase in size.
Having attempted a few socks now, I’ve noticed that how the stitches look depends on both which side I’m working on, and whether I’m decreasing or increasing the rows.
For example, on my latest attempt I slipped knitwise after each turn, which made the left decreases (after turning to the wrong/purl side) look good but the left increases got bad tension. The right decreases look both ugly and have small holes, but the right increases look ugly in a different way but have extremely good tension with no holes.
Looking back, I realize I really messed up the right side’s increases by knitting through back loop instead of purling since that’s the only time you approach previous double stitches on the wrong/purl side, and I didn’t think about having to do them differently. But that doesn’t explain why left increases and right decreases have bad tension and small holes respectively.
Yes. But decreasing and increasing is typically reserved to a very specific set of knitting techniques (like knit two together or Make one Right)
You are not decreasing the rows, you are knitting shorter or longer rows.
Anyway, as for your problem, this has to do a lot with tension and the way you cary the yarn. I have a youtube video called “Solved: The secret truth behind loose edge stitches [and how to fix them]”
that basically explains the issue
Top down sweater using GSR to shape shoulders; once I joint the back and front to knit body, my knitting looks much neater and is a smaller gauge. I think I am twisting my GSR to create a twisted knit? Please help!
that sounds more like an issue between knitting flat vs in the round and not quite related to GSR.
Hello Norman – thank you for your great content. I love it. I’m still a bit confused on how to get the best possible German Short Row without wonky twisted stitches. Lately I have started putting some short rows at the bottom of all of my sweaters so the back doesn’t ride up. I found your video that describes doing the short rows differently (slip knitwise and then pull down towards you instead of back away from you to make the DS). I do see a difference and I’m happy. Thanks! However, I stumbled upon someone else’s video where they explained the same technique, but they do it on the other side… she said to do it when going from knit to purl side… not when going from purl to knit side. You mentioned that above too but didn’t really elaborate on when or why? I just don’t understand now why you would do it on one side and she would do it on another? Can you explain a bit more on that? If my sweater is being knitted from the top down, I am doing ’shortening’ short rows fyi. If bottom up, I am doing ’lengthening’ short rows. Thank you for all you do!
honestly, a lot of this is personal preference. On top of that, it really depends on the use case! so, the way I describe it works really well for socks. however, when you space the short rows apart farther, a different technique might look better.
short rows are really weird in this aspect and I always urge people to knit a swatch for that very reason.