How to Make a Slip Knot

Hello everyone! Today's tutorial Tuesday will be on how to create a slip knot, which is one of the fundamental starting techniques for many textile arts. This technique is applicable for both knitting and crochet, or anything else which requires the creation of a slip knot. so with that, we will begin.

Making the Slip Knot

Measure a length of yarn between 6 in. and 8 in (15.2cm and 20.3cm). Do not cut this, but leave it attached to the yarn you will be working with for your project. 

Take the tail end and wrap it over and above part of the working yarn (the part attached to the ball) as shown below.

Wrap the yarn again, going over the working yarn again and part of the previously formed tail loop. You will be forming a classic pretzel shape, as shown below.

Now, tuck the tail end under the bottommost portion of the loop as shown below.

Here is a side by side comparison. The "pretzel" shape should look like the image on the right, where the tail is going underneath the bottom of the shape, and not above, as it is in the leftmost picture. I have found that many of my new knitting and crochet students forget this step and get confused on what the form is supposed to look like; hopefully this helps if you ever had the same confusion.

Take a crochet hook (or knitting needle, since the process is the same for both) and slide it underneath the second wrap on the left. This part is attached to the working yarn. It is important that you only go under this section, otherwise the slip knot will fall apart in the next step.

Drop the "pretzel" shape out of your hand, then begin to pull on both the working yarn and the tail simultaneously. This will start to tighten the slip know around the crochet hook or knitting needle.

Continue to pull the tail and working yarn until the actual knot forms, as shown below.

Continue to pull the tail and working yarn until the loop tights around the crochet hook or knitting needle. It should be taut but not overly snug. As a rule you should be able to move the loop gently up and down the hook or needle, but this should be too easy (too loose) or too difficult (to tight).

Once the slip knot is secure, you can proceed with your project. The majority of knitting and crochet project only use one slip knot as the starting stitch, so you will not need to repeat the steps shown above to create more slip knots.
If you are looking for cast on methods that utilize slip knots, here are my tutorials for the long tail and elastic cast on. I will be posting other cast on techniques shortly.
​If you are looking for a better way to start crochet in the round besides the chain method, I also have a tutorial for starting crochet magic circles (this technique does not use a slip knot, however).

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you have any questions on the technique shown today, feel free to post in the comment section below. Until next time, happy crafting!