skpo

SKPO stands for slip one, knit one, and pass slipstitch over. It is a stitch decrease used in knitting, both by hand and on industrial machines, to reduce the number of active loops on the needles while creating a slant in the resulting fabric. The abbreviation appears in pattern instructions and machine programming as a shorthand for a three-step sequence that produces a single decreased stitch with consistent visual character.

The mechanic works like this: a loop is slipped from one needle to another without being knitted, then the next loop is knitted normally, and finally the slipped loop is pulled over the newly knitted loop and discarded. This leaves one loop on the needle instead of two. The resulting stitch leans to the left on the fabric face, making SKPO useful for paired decreases that frame shaping, such as the decreases on either side of a center panel or along the edges of armholes and necklines.

Machine knitting and pattern control

On flat bed and circular knitting machines, SKPO is encoded in the punch cards or electronic control files that guide needle selection and stitch formation. Machine operators must understand how the sequence translates to cam timing and needle movement, especially on machines with latch needles or compound needle systems where slipping is mechanical rather than manual. The precision matters: if the slip and knit timing drift, the decrease becomes loose or misshapen.

SKPO appears most often in fitted garments where edge shaping must be clean and intentional. Sleeve caps, set-in armholes, and V-necks rely on paired decreases (SKPO on one side, knit two together on the other) to create a balanced, professional look. In stockinette or rib grounds, a misexecuted SKPO leaves a hole or a twisted loop that catches the eye and disrupts the fabric plane.

The term is distinctly Western hand-knitting vocabulary; industrial mills and machine knit shops may use different terminology or simply refer to the action by its mechanical result, such as 'left-leaning decrease' or 'skip decrease.' Confusion sometimes arises with similar abbreviations like SSK (slip, slip, knit), which produces the same visual result but via a different path. Understanding the exact sequence matters when converting written patterns to machine code or troubleshooting dropped stitches in production.