Don’t be afraid! The 3 to 7 Increase may seem unusual or hard but it really isn’t. It just uses 3 common stitches used in knitting – k3tog, k1 and yo.

This increase adds 4 stitches to your knitting because you’re taking THREE stitches and turing it into SEVEN.

It can be used in lace stitch patterns (like the Estonian stitch pattern linked to below) and also in stacked increases because the quick increase rate is used to visually add interest.

We’ll take you through the steps here…

How to Make a 3 to 7 Increase

Step 1: K3tog and DO NOT drop the stitch off the left needle.

Step 2: YO.

Step 3: K1 (into the same stitches as Step 1)

You now have 3 stitches on the right needle. I have 7 sts OTN because I started with 4 already there.

Steps 4 and 5: YO and K1 (just like in Steps 2 and 3).

You now have 5 stitches on the right needle.

Steps 6 and 7: YO and K1 (just like above in Steps 2 and 3 again). But this time, DROP the stitch off the left needle.

You now have 7 stitches on the right needle.

They’re going to bunch up and look like a big mess of stitches.

Just purl them slowly on the next row so you work each of the 7 stitches individually.

Here’s the increase after a few rows.

Give it a try! Just knit slowly and don’t worry too much. If you’re really concerned, try a swatch.

Free Pattern with the 3-Into-7 Increase