Home › Knitting abbreviations › ssp: Slip, slip, purl
ssp: Slip, slip, purl
Slip two stitches knitwise one at a time, return them to the left needle (now twisted), then purl them together through the back loops. A decrease removes stitches, so the stitch count at the end of the row is lower than at the start. Patterns usually state the new total in brackets.
How to work ssp
Slip two stitches knitwise one at a time, return them to the left needle (now twisted), then purl them together through the back loops. It is the left-leaning purl-side decrease.
Common mistake
Purling through the front loops, which loses the left lean and looks different from the knit-side decrease.
Effect on your stitch count
It removes 1 stitch.
How it looks in a pattern
A typical line (an invented example for illustration):
Row 5 (RS): K1, ssp, knit to last 3 sts, ssp, k1.Spacing it evenly
Need to spread ssp evenly across a row? Use the increase and decrease calculator.
Related abbreviations
All terms are in the knitting abbreviations list, and in the app's Glossary, which works offline.
Frequently asked questions
What does ssp stand for?
ssp stands for slip, slip, purl.
Does ssp change the number of stitches?
It removes 1 stitch.