Often, when you’re shaping a toe, a neckline, a triangular shawl, or any number of other possible knitting projects, you will be instructed to make 1 right (m1R) or make 1 left (m1L). One of knitting’s most common increases, this technique increases your stitch count by 1 stitch. It leans either to the right or left so that your increases can follow the lines of the design, flowing with the slant of a V-neck or the gusset of a mitten. Follow along with our Make 1 Right + Make 1 Left Tutorial to master this simple technique!

First, A Mnemonic Device

Lots of knitters have a hard time committing this technique to memory. As you learn these increase, keep this little mnemonic device in mind:

Make 1 right: “Right” has 5 letters in it and so does “front,” so you work into the front of the stitch to make 1 right.

Make 1 left: “Left” has 4 letters in it and so does “back,” so you work into the back of the stitch to make 1 left.

Okay, now that we’ve got that straight, here’s how to make 1 right and left!

M1R + M1L: Video Tutorial

Click To See Video Transcript

Hey guys, I am going to show you how to Make One Left and Make One Right. I’ve started a swatch for you here. I’m doing my increases, a couple stitches in from the edge. So to start, I’m just going to knit two. Alright, so to Make One Left, the goal is to pick up this bar or ladder that stretches between the last stitch on your right needle and the first stitch on your left needle. It’s right here. And how you do that is important. So to Make One Left, you want to pick it up from front to back. So I’ll show you, huh? Just like that. I’ll drop it down again and show you one more time front to back, just like that. Now what you want to do is knit it through the back loop so you can see, it might seem a little tough, but just kind of work your needle in there. Show you one more time through the back loop. And there you go. Increase one stitch. 

I’m going to knit to the other end of my swatch and show you how to Make One Right, make one right and left. It’s abbreviated with a little M and then the number one, and then either capital L or capital R to indicate which increase you’re doing. It’s a really, really subtle increase. And by that I mean there’s no holes created. You’ll see it in all sorts of different patterns. It’s a really handsome way to increase and very common. My Make One Right is a couple stitches in from the edge. Let me just get there. Alright. Okay. 

So to Make One Right, it’s the same idea. So you want to pick up this bar here, but this time, instead of going from front to back, you actually want to go from back to front. Make One Right, you have the R. And so I think of back is coming from the rear here, R and R. The alliteration helps me remember which one’s which. So I’m just going to pick it up here. And this time what you want to do is knit through the front loop. And again, if you knit really tight, this might feel a little awkward at first, but you’ll get used to it. It’ll become more familiar the more you do it. So you just knit through the front loop. 

I’m going to now knit to the end of my swatch here. We’ll take a look at how these stitches actually get their name. So the make one right, it creates this really subtle but beautiful little right-slanting detail. You can see it traveling up this whole side here. And similarly, the make one left this little, you can see little left leg of your stitches in the front, creating a nice little left slant. And that’s two ways to increase.

M1R + M1L: Step-By-Step Tutorial

Make 1 Right (m1R)

To “make 1 right” (m1R), use the left needle to pick up the strand between the last stitch you knit and the one you’re about to knit, bringing the needle from back to front. Leave the strand on the left needle.

Make 1 Right (m1R) + Make 1 Left (m1L) | Purl Soho

Next, insert the tip of the right needle knitwise into the front leg of the strand and knit as usual.

Make 1 Right (m1R) + Make 1 Left (m1L) | Purl Soho

You now have one new, right-leaning stitch on the right needle!

Make 1 Left (m1L)

To “make 1 left” (m1L), pick up the bar between the stitch you knit and the one you’re about to knit, bringing the needle from front to back.

Make 1 Right (m1R) + Make 1 Left (m1L) | Purl Soho

Next, insert the tip of the right needle knitwise into the back leg of the strand and knit as usual.

Make 1 Right (m1R) + Make 1 Left (m1L) | Purl Soho

You now have one new, left-leaning stitch on the right needle!

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