the language for knitters/crocheters by a crocheter/knitter.
Important
This language is still in active development. Please use caution as it's still really buggy.
knitlang was made in June 2025, by me, kenny. Originally it was supposed to be a rust remake of binary called "bin+" (.binp as a file extension.) However I decided to change that idea up after i realized 2 things...
- Rebuilding
1001110's just isnt possible and/or would be too hard. - Im new to rust.
SO Then...!
a brilliant person in discord.gg/program came up with an idea (mostly as a joke) that i should make something based off of knitting. So i did. (mostly for shits and giggles)
 Kenny Thomas-Moore 💻 📖 🌍 ♿️ 🚧 |  Evil 💻 🚧 |  mnem 💻 🚧 |
simply build from source using the following commands...
cargo build --release
./target/release/knitlang pattern.knitNote
.knit is our custom file extension, however for .knit files to work you may need to have the source in the root directory of your project.
| 🧵 Knitting Term | 💻 Programming Equivalent | 💬 Notes |
|---|---|---|
K (knit) |
Operation / Function | Core unit of work; executes a line or step |
P (purl) |
Variable declaration | Stores yarn, needle info, row state |
YO (yarn over) |
Increment / Loop initialization | Adds a new stitch (increases count) |
K2tog (knit 2 together) |
If/Else or Conditional Logic | Combines stitches → test & react (compression or decision) |
SSK (slip, slip, knit) |
Comparison / Merge | Rearranges or compares values |
Pattern repeat |
Loops (for/while) | Repeat blocks of instructions/stitches |
* * repeat n times |
for loop |
Repeats a pattern block a specific number of times |
Cast on |
Program start / Init block | Beginning of execution; memory allocation |
Bind off |
Program end / Return / Cleanup | Frees memory / closes output |
Stitch marker |
Label / Anchor / Checkpoint | Used to mark positions in loops or branches |
Gauge |
Type checking / Size constraints | Ensures consistent output (e.g., size, speed, type) |
Row / Round |
Code block / Function call | A complete unit of execution; stack frame analog |
Increase |
Push to list / Expand memory | Adds a new element |
Decrease |
Pop from list / Reduce memory | Removes an element |
Tension |
Runtime performance tuning | Balancing tightness/efficiency |
Frogging |
Rollback / Undo / Debug | Rip it out and try again 🐸 |
Stitch holder |
Temporary variable / Cache | Stores values for reuse or reassignment |
Cable |
Thread switching / Threaded logic | Rearranges stitch execution order (like parallelism or non-linear execution) |
Chart / Written pattern |
Source code or DSL file | Human-readable source |
Swatch |
Test / Compile | Prototype run of a block before full program |