Funny Knitting and Crochet Terms you’ll see on Social Media

Ever stumbled across a knitting or crochet post and felt like you needed a translator? From ‘frogging’ to ‘yarn chicken,’ the yarn crafting world has its own hilarious language. In this post, I’m breaking down 47 funny knitting and crochet terms you’ll see on social media, so you’ll never feel lost in the conversation again.

Knitting and crochet have their own language. Full of playful terms and abbreviations that pop up all over social media. Jargon like this is natural: it helps us describe our craft in detail and creates a sense of community. After all, if someone mentions their “WIP” or “stash,” you instantly know they’re a fellow yarn lover.
But jargon can also exclude. As someone who is both dyslexic and autistic, I know firsthand how barriers like unexplained acronyms can make content harder to access. People using screen readers often struggle with them. So do dyslexic and autistic crafters. So while these terms are fun, and some are even necessary, let’s use them in a way that welcomes everyone. That means spelling out acronyms the first time (e.g., “Work in Progress (WIP)”) and avoiding standalone initials when possible.
These terms are here to bring us together, not keep anyone out.

And so, without further ado, here are 47 funny knitting and crochet terms you will often encounter on social media.

Along. (AL).

A social event where people create a project together, and share the experience. Very seldom used by itself, see CAL, KAL and MAL below.
‘I’m really enjoying the Scraps to Stitches MAL’ .

Bi-stitual.

A person who both knits and crochet.
‘Are you Bi-stitual? Try out this granny square crochet top with knitted rib collar and cuffs’

Beyond Life Expectancy. (BLE).

Usually used in relation to the amount of plans or materials someone has acquired. SBLE, or less often SABLE stands for ‘stash (acquired) beyond life expectancy’, and means ‘I have so much yarn, I can’t knit or crochet it all in one lifetime.’ Also used for patterns PBLE or PABLE, or plans in general, ‘I just added that to my Ravelry Que, but it’s BLE already, so heavens only know if I’ll get around to it.

Blog Hop.

Do you love free knitting or crochet patterns? A Blog Hop is an event where one person will host an event, and each day send the reader ‘hopping’ over to another blog to get another knitting or crochet pattern.

Crochet Along (CAL).

A group crochet event where participants work on the same project together, often sharing progress online. Lots of fun.

Christmas in July.

Knitters and crocheters love to gift handmade items for Christmas. But it takes many months to create so many gifts. ‘Christmas in July’ in general can refer to a mini Christmas themed celebration on the 25th of July, but in the yarncraft world it refers instead to planning Christmas gifting, and various events, blog hops (see above) and other events so knitters and crocheters can gather together suitable patterns, and start their christmas crafting on time.

Crochet in Public. (CIP)

Do you only crochet on the sofa? Or bring your yarn and hooks everywhere? For some crocheters, it’s a big thing to Crochet in Public, as part of building community and raising awareness of the craft. World Wide Crochet in Public Day (WWCIPD) is the same day as World Wide Knit in Public day (see below), the 3rd Saturday in June each year. The next one will be Saturday 12th June 2027. But you don’t have to wait. You can Crochet in Public any day of the year!

Craftivism.

Crafting has always been political. It is the intentional use of crafts in political activism. See for example the Craftivism for Palestine knit and crochet blanket.

Destash.

The act of getting rid of excess Stash, (see below) by selling, donating or throwing out the excess yarn cluttering up your yarn storage area.
‘I just had a huge destash, but still have SBLE’ (see BLE above).

In Search Of. (ISO).

Often seen in Facebook posts where people are searching for specific patterns, types of patterns, yarn of a specific dyelot, inspiration, or just about anything.

Fibre Acquisition Road Trip. (FART).

Fairly self explanatory. A road trip to stop at LYS (see below) and buy yarn. Often planned in groups for extra yarn loving fun. ‘Me and my best friend are off on a FART next week. Can’t wait.’

FDT.

(You don’t need me to spell it out). Not a specific yarncraft phrase, but there are knitting and crochet Facebook groups where this is the expected sign off for every post. So you may see it often in knitting groups in particular. It means the poster does not like the current president of the US.

Finished Object. (FO).

The proud moment where the project is finally HOTN (see below). A moment to share with pride on social media. If the ends aren’t actually woven in yet, that’s OK, you can just tuck them inside so they don’t show in the photo.

Frog/frogging.

Something has gone tragically wrong. There is a mistake, rows back, and it’s too big to ignore. You now have to ‘rip it, rip it’, and we call that action ‘frogging’ (to frog, past tense ‘frogged’) in both knitting and crochet.

Frog pond.

Sometimes a project needs to be ‘frogged’. And the sad trust is, you just can’t face it right now. The disappointment runs deep. So, you pick up a different WIP, or even start a new project. For the time being, the naughty project goes to the dark corner where abandoned projects hide, until you finally get around to frogging them. That shadowed place is called the ‘Frog Pond’.

Hooker

A person who hooks, a crocheter. You may refer to yourself as this if you choose, but use with care to address other crocheters, some find it offensive.

Hot off the Needles, Hot off the hook. (HoTN/HoTH).

It’s just been cast off, or fastened off. Probably no ends woven in, even less likely to have been washed and blocked. But you just have to show it off! It’s gorgeous, and you are quite rightly proud of yourself!

Knit Along. (KAL)

A group knitting event, great fun. See ‘ALong’ and ‘CAL’ above for more.

Knit in Public (KIP).

There is a worldwide Knit in Public event each year on the 3rd saturday in June, but people can knit in public any day of the year.

Knitting Against Time (KAT).

You started with great intentions. But your other projects called. Now it’s Christmas Eve, and you still have 2 toddler hats, 1 shawl and a pair of mittens to finish before guests arrive. You are Knitting Against Time!

Knitflixing.

Knitting while binge watching your favourite TV programmes. Can also be said as Knitflix-and-chill, a blissful, relaxing evening.

Knitting Under the Influence. (KUI).

If you plan to try this, check the definition for ‘frogging’ first. They do kinda go together.

Local Yarn Store / Local Yarn Shop (LYS).

A small, independent yarn shop, the heartbeat of local yarncraft communities. If there is one in your area, you are lucky!

Make Along (MAL).

See ‘Along’, ‘KnitAlong’ and ‘CrochetAlong’ above. The term ‘Make Along’ is more likely used if it’s a Bi-stitual or Multicraftual event, and includes both knitting and crochet.

Multicraftual.

Better than bi-stitual. The crafter who perhaps knits, crochet, sews, quilts, embroiders, and is a dab hand at DIY, too.

One Row Wonder

A crochet or knitting pattern (more often found in crochet) where a one row Repeat creates an easy but dramatic stitch pattern.

Project Half Done. (PHD).

If you meet a crafter with 3 PHDs you should be impressed. Not perhaps as much as if you met an academic with 3 PHDs, but still impressed.

Pooling / puddling.

When using Variegated or multicoloured yarn, the yarn can ‘pool’ so it is spreads out evenly, or forms clusters.

Procrastaknitting.

Knitting while avoiding other tasks.

Squishy.

Yarn. It’s squishy. And wonderful. So when a crafter refers to a ‘squishy (anything)’ they mean yarn. Examples of how it’s used include ‘squishy mail’ (yarn arriving by post).

Startitis

The irresistible urge to start new knitting or crochet projects, often before finishing current ones.

Stash.

Collection of yarn. Most of us tend to acquire more yarn than we have time to knot or crochet, and so our stash often takes on a life of its own.

Stash busting.

Using up stash. Patterns may be described as ‘stash busting’ if they use very little yarn. (Because small amounts of leftover yarn can become a storage problem, and hard to plan for). Equally, if they use a lot of yarn (they help you deplete the stash over all) but very often, a good ‘stash busting’ project is flexible in the yarn it uses, and allows for stripes or other strategies so you can use up the stash you have, instead of buying more.

Stash Enhancement Experience (SEX).

Which is better? Sex, or SEX. Would you choose a romantic date, or a trip to a LYS with your knitting best friend?

Second Sock Syndrome. (SSS)

You have knitted one sock. The sensible thing to knit next is the matching sock. But having knit the first one, it no longer feels exciting. So you go for the dopamine hit of the new exciting project, and end up with 10 single socks. It’s happened to many of us.

Tink.

To un-knit. Different from frogging, which involves removing the needles or crochet hook and ripping. Tinking is a process of unknitting stitches one by one. So called, because ‘tink’ is ‘knit’ spelled backwards.

Trashed Object Abandoned in Disgust. (TOAD).

Some projects just don’t work out. Some projects just don’t work. Maybe it was a poor yarn choice, a badly written pattern, or worse, an AI written one. It might have been a bit above your current skill level, or good yarn and good pattern, but they just didn’t work together. We all end up with the occasional TOAD.

Two at a time. (2AAT).

When knitting matched pairs of socks or mittens, some knitters knit one, then the other. Braver knitters defeat Second Sock Syndrome by knitting both together, at once.

Unfinished object (UFO).

This could be a WIP, a PHD, or it may be more of a TOAD.

Vanilla.

In knitting and crochet, ‘vanilla’ means a basic item, without any fancy stitch patterns.

Variegated.

Yarn with more than one colour, may be self stripping, Pooling, or marled.

Work In Progress (WIP).

The current knitting or crochet project you are working on.

Wool shop.

In Ireland or the UK, people may refer to a local yarn shop as a ‘wool shop’, and generally call all yarn ‘wool’ regardless of its fibre type.

Yarn barf.

When a centre pull ball of yarn doesn’t pull out neatly, and you get a ‘barf’ of yarn coming out the centre.

Yarn bomb.

Decorating public spaces with knitted or crocheted art, also known as ‘guerrilla knitting’. It can be a form of Craftivism, but is often lighthearted and decorative, aiming to bring a little local joy.

Yarn Enabler

A person who encourages others to buy more yarn, often by sharing tempting patterns, sales, or stash-enhancing ideas.

Yarn chicken.

The risky game of trying to finish a project with just enough yarn, often running out before completion.

The risky game of trying to finish a project with just enough yarn, often running out before completion.

Yarn crawl.

Visiting multiple yarn shops in a single trip, often as a social event.

If you enjoyed these funny terms, you might also love diving into the weird and wonderful world of knitting and crochet superstitions, because our craft has its own folklore too.