Loom Knitting

• Anchor peg: The peg on the side of the loom, which is used to secure your yarn before and after you wrap the loom.
  

• Cast on: Initially wrapping the loom and knitting off to create the first row.
  

• Double rake: A knitting loom that has two rows of pegs. Generally, it is rectangular in shape. You can make double-knit pieces on a double rake, that is, knit pieces that are two layers thick, by wrapping the loom from one side to the other. A double rake loom can be used as a single rake by wrapping adjacent pegs.
  

• E-wrap: The basic wrap of the yarn around the pegs. It crosses on the inside of the loom, and looks like a a series of cursive lower-case ‘e’ when viewed from above.
  

• Ending tail: The last segment of yarn remaining after you finished knitting.
  

• Flat knit stitch: A method of creating a knit stitch where the working yarn is placed in front of the peg and the existing loop on the peg is pulled over the yarn and off the peg.
  

• Flat removal methods: Removing the knitting from the loom so that the finished edge is straight and flat. There are various methods to accomplish this, with or without a crochet hook, resulting in a chain stitch look to the finished edge.
  

• Frog: Removing your knitting from the loom and pulling on the working yarn to "rip it, rip it," unravelling the work.
  

• Gathered removal method: Removing the knitting from the loom by running a threaded needle through the loop on each peg, removing the loops from the pegs, and pulling tight to gather the knitting. This is a common removal method for hats.
  

• Gauge: The size of the stitch, determined by the distance of the pegs on the loom, the size of the yarn being used, and the stitch being knitted. Looms come in various gauges, which are measured from the middle of one peg to the middle of the next peg (though some loom manufacturers measure the distance between the pegs). Loom gauge generally ranges from Fine (1/4"), Small (3/8"), Regular (1/2"), and Large (5/8" and up).
  

• Knit edge: A method of turning around when knitting a flat piece. The edge pegs are wrapped and knit off for every row. They essentially get knit twice in succession, once as the last peg of one row, then again as the first peg of the next row. The knitting on the end pegs contributes to the width of the piece.
  

• Knit off: Bringing a yarn loop up over one or more loops on the same peg, taking that loop off the peg, and placing it to the inside of the loom.
  

• Purl stitch: A stitch that is the reverse of the flat knit stitch. It is made by putting the working yarn below the existing loop on the peg, pulling it up through the existing loop to make a new loop, removing the existing loop and moving it to the inside of the loom, and placing the new loop on the peg.
  

• Rake loom: Another word for a knitting loom. A single rake loom has a single row of pegs. A double rake loom has two rows of pegs.
  

• Single rake: A knitting loom that has a single row of pegs. They are generally round, oval, or straight.
  

• Slip stitch: Wrapping the end peg of a row by merely hooking the working yarn around the peg, then going back to wrap the next row. Note: when the next peg is e-wrapped, the working yarn goes in front of the end peg, around it, then behind it. When the next peg is purled, the working yarn goes behind the end peg, around it, then in front of it. The intent is that the working yarn does not need to cross from the inside to the outside, or the outside to the inside, in order to wrap the next stitch.
  

• Slipped edge: A method of turning around when knitting a flat piece. The end pegs are wrapped and knit off once for every two rows. This gives a pretty chain stitch look to the edge. The end pegs do not contribute to the width of the piece.
  

• Starting tail: This is the very beginning end of your yarn, the part that hangs off the loom before where the slip knot sits on the anchor peg.
  

• Swatch: A piece of knitting created to determine how many stitches get made using a specific loom and yarn. When making a swatch, it is best to knit 5" square, and measure the interior 4" square. Since not everyone knits with the same tension, different loom knitters using the same loom and the same yarn may end up with different results. It is always worth the time to match your gauge to the pattern designer's, or your end result may be unpredictable.
  

• Tink: Knit spelled backwards, representing un-knitting a short section by removing stitches one peg at a time, replacing the previous loop onto each peg.
  

• Traveling yarn: The yarn that 'travels' from one peg to the next when you are wrapping the loom, or from one stitch loop to the next in the knitted piece.
  

• Working yarn: The yarn that you are currently using to wrap the loom.