In knitting, an 'increase' is a method used to increase the number of stitches on your needles. Increases are usually carried out part-way through knitting a row.

A single increase increases the overall number of stitches by 1.

A double increase increases the overall number of stitches by 2.

Increases and decreases are used together to create any knitted shape you like, from a pyramid to an elephant :)

There are a variety of increase (and decrease) techniques to choose from; the most popular of which I have detailed on this website.

Today I'm going to show you how to do the following increases:

kfb = knit front and back.

'Front' and 'back' refers to where you knit into a stitch; through the front of the loop or through the back of the loop. When you do a regular knit stitch, you work the front of the loop (loop = stitch).

The kfb is a single increase.

kfbf = knit front, back and front again.

Less common than the kfb, this is a double increase.

Both are 'left-leaning' increases, which means they lean slightly to the left when viewed from the front of your knitting. I'll explain more about this in another tutorial.

Both are also referred to as 'bar increases', because they both create a small, raised 'bar' of yarn on your knitted work - which is visible on the front of your knitting.

If having this small bar of yarn mark each increase is unacceptable for your project, then an alternative increase called the 'make one' increase is a lot more subtle, and is often referred to as the invisible increase. So you could choose to do that type of increase instead.

Often, the 'bar' made by a kfb or kfbf is used as part of the design; almost a decorative element in fact.

Here is the video tutorial: