What Short Rows Do
Short rows add extra length to one part of your knitting without adding length everywhere. You work partway across a row, turn the work, and work back — knitting a wedge of extra fabric into a specific area. The applications are everywhere: the heel of a sock, bust darts in a fitted sweater, the curved back neck of a top-down garment, shoulder slopes in a set-in sleeve.
The challenge with short rows is that turning mid-row creates a gap: the yarn has to change direction, and if you don't deal with that transition stitch, you get a visible hole. Different methods handle this gap differently. Wrap-and-turn (the classic method) wraps the turn stitch to disguise the gap, but you have to pick up those wraps later, which adds steps and can be confusing. German short rows are cleaner, faster, and leave no wrap to hunt down on subsequent rows.
What Makes German Short Rows Different
Instead of wrapping the stitch, German short rows create a "double stitch" at the turning point. A double stitch is a single stitch that looks like it has two legs sitting on the needle — it's made by slipping the first stitch after the turn with the yarn held in a specific way. When you work back over it later, you knit both legs together as one stitch, eliminating the gap completely. The result is cleaner than wrap-and-turn with fewer steps.
How to Turn and Create the Double Stitch
When your pattern says "turn" (or "W&T" if you're substituting German short rows), here's what you do:
On a knit row:
- Work to the turning point.
- Turn your work so the other side is facing you.
- Bring the yarn to the front (as if to purl).
- Slip the first stitch purlwise from the left needle to the right needle.
- Now bring the yarn up and over the right needle to the back — you're pulling the yarn up over the needle tip. This lifts both legs of the slipped stitch up onto the needle, creating the double stitch. It should look like two loops sitting on the needle where there used to be one.
- Proceed to knit across the row as normal.
On a purl row:
- Work to the turning point.
- Turn your work.
- Bring the yarn to the back (as if to knit).
- Slip the first stitch purlwise.
- Bring the yarn forward under the needle and up over it to the back — again lifting both legs of the stitch onto the needle.
- Proceed to purl across.
How to Work the Double Stitch When You Return to It
On a subsequent row, when you arrive at a double stitch, you treat both legs as a single stitch:
- If the double stitch is on a knit row: insert your needle through both legs of the double stitch and knit them together. It will feel slightly tight — that's correct.
- If the double stitch is on a purl row: insert your needle through both legs and purl them together.
The two legs close the gap, and the surface of the fabric is smooth with no hole and no bump.
Identifying the Double Stitch on the Needle
When you're coming back to work the double stitch, it's easy to miss it or confuse it for two stitches. Look for the stitch that has two distinct loops sitting on the needle with a visible bar of yarn between them. If you're not sure, tug gently on the working yarn — the double stitch will be the one that tightens. Work it as one stitch.
German Short Rows for a Sock Heel
The German short row heel is one of the most popular heel constructions precisely because it's tidy. You start with half the total sock stitches (say 32 of 64), work short rows in, turning and creating a double stitch each time until a central section of stitches remains, then work back out. Because there are no wraps, the picked-up stitches in the gusset phase sit more cleanly, and the heel cup has a smooth, even texture on both sides.
The key with sock heels: count your double stitches carefully on each side. They should be symmetrical. If you have 3 double stitches on the left side of the needle and 4 on the right, the heel cup will be lopsided.
German Short Rows vs Other Methods
Wrap-and-turn leaves a visible nub if the wrap isn't picked up correctly — particularly noticeable in fine yarn. Japanese short rows (using a removable marker on the working yarn) are extremely tidy but require extra materials. German short rows hit the sweet spot: clean results, no extra equipment, fast to execute. Once you've done them a handful of times, the double stitch becomes automatic.