How to Knit Garter Stitch

Garter stitch is the first texture most knitters ever make: knit every single row, and the fabric grows in squishy horizontal ridges that look the same on both sides and flatly refuse to curl at the edges. It’s the scarf in our road sign set, the all-over fabric of the little possum onesie, a whole bootie knitted sideways in one piece, and the flat-lying borders that keep our kitchen dishcloths square.

Step by step

Cast on any number of stitches — garter stitch has no stitch multiple to remember, which is part of its charm. There is no pattern row to learn beyond the one you’re about to do forever.
Knit every stitch across the row, exactly as plain as that sounds. No purling, no counting, no chart: if the yarn is at the back and you’re making knit stitches, you’re doing it right.
Turn the work and knit every stitch back across again. Because you knitted the back of the row too, the bumps that a knit stitch pushes away from you land on both faces of the fabric — and those bumps are the garter ridges.
Count ridges, not rows, when you measure your progress: two rows of knitting make one full ridge (one bump row on each side of the fabric). A piece the pattern describes as “work 40 ridges” wants 80 rows — an easy thing to get wrong in the first five minutes and wonder about for the next fifty.
Expect garter stitch to eat yarn and length differently from stocking stitch: it’s shorter and wider for the same stitch and row counts, and it takes noticeably more rows to reach the same length. That’s why patterns give garter sections their own counts, and why our dishcloths use it for borders — it pulls a curling edge flat and keeps it there.
Mind the first and last stitch of every row. Garter’s edges are naturally neat little chains of bumps, and they only stay that way if the edge stitches get the same tension as the middle ones — a baggy first stitch makes a wobbly selvedge no blocking will quite forgive.
Working garter stitch in the round is the one surprise: with no turning, knit rounds alone would give you stocking stitch, so garter in the round means alternating one knit round with one purl round. Flat garter is all knits; round garter takes both stitches taking turns.
Use it where its nature shines: borders and bands that must lie flat, straps and earflaps that get handled, all-over baby knits that need to be reversible and washable — the possum onesie and the sideways bootie in our links are garter from cuff to hem for exactly those reasons.
Dropped a stitch? Garter forgives kindly — the ladder up to the dropped loop alternates front and back strands because every row was knitted, so pick the loop up knitting it in on every row and the repair disappears into the ridges.

Patterns that use it

Kangaroo Road Sign Beanie & Scarf Knitting Pattern | Aussie Intarsia Set, 3 Sizes, DK PDF

Aussie Baby Onesies Vol 1 | 12 Knitted Baby Onesie Patterns PDF

Aussie Baby Booties Vol 2 | 12 Knitted Baby Bootie Patterns PDF

Aussie Animal Dishcloths Vol 3 | 12 Knitted Dishcloth Patterns PDF

Beginner Craft-Night Knit Pack Vol 3 | 12 Easy Ornament & Bauble Patterns PDF

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Common mistakes

Counting rows when the pattern counts ridges. Two rows make one ridge, so a piece worked to “40 rows” instead of 40 ridges comes out half the length it should be.
Letting the first and last stitch of each row go loose and baggy. Garter’s neat chain of edge bumps only survives if the edge stitches get the same tension as the middle ones.
Trying garter stitch in the round with knit rounds alone. With no turning, that gives you stocking stitch — round garter needs a purl round alternating with every knit round.

Tina’s tips

Pop a safety pin through the fabric every ten ridges as you go. Counting becomes a quick glance instead of a squinting session, and you’ll never lose your place mid-conversation.
Finish each knitting session at the end of a ridge — two full rows — rather than mid-pair. You’ll pick the piece up knowing exactly where you are, and the ridges stay even from one sitting to the next.