Knit Front and Back (kfb) is a very common single increase that turns one stitch into two. On the knit side of stockinette, a kfb looks a bit like a purl stitch, and in fact, it is sometimes called a “bar increase” because of the horizontal “bar” on the increased stitch.

To work a kfb, you knit into the front of the stitch as you normally would, then, instead of letting the stitch slide off the left needle as usual, you insert the right needle into the back of the same stitch and knit it. Having knit into the front and into the back of the stitch, it’s now safe to let it slide off the needle. And that’s it, you’ve created a new stitch!

Give the kfb a try on your own or follow along with our video tutorial below.