Knit and Purl
K – Knit – American
In this style (most common for beginners), the yarn is tensioned in the right hand.
The Knit Stitch - American Style
To Do the K – Knit Stitch – American Style:
Start with your working yarn behind the right-hand needle.
With the yarn tensioned in the fingers of your right hand,
- Insert the right needle into the first stitch on your left-hand needle from the front to the back.
- Cross the needles and pinch them with your left thumb and pointer finger to stabilize them. Don’t drop the yarn from your right hand.
- With your right pointer finger, wrap the yarn counterclockwise around the back of the right-hand needle.
- Use the needle tip to pull the yarn back through the loop on the left needle.
- Let the stitch move off of the left-hand needle and on to the right.
K – Knit – Continental
In Continental-style knitting, hold the working yarn with your left hand.
The Knit Stitch - Continental
To Do the K – Knit Stitch – Continental Style:
- With working yarn in the left hand, insert the right-hand needle from front to back into the first stitch on the left-hand needle.
- Wrap the right needle counterclockwise around the tensioned yarn.
- Pull the yarn through the stitch on the left-hand needle.
- Move the completed stitch to the right-hand needle.
P – Purl – American
In this style (most common for beginners), the yarn is tensioned in the right hand.
The Purl Stitch - American Style
To Do the P – Purl Stitch – American Style:
- Turn your knitting so that the bumps face you.
- Put the working yarn in front of the right needle.
- Insert the right needle through the stitch from back to front.
- Pinch the needles to hold them steady.
- Wrap the yarn counterclockwise around the right-hand needle.
- PUSH the new loop through the stitch on your left-hand needle.
- Slide the stitch off the left-hand needle and push it down the barrel of the right-hand needle.
P – Purl – Continental
In Continental knitting, the yarn is tensioned in the left hand.
Purl - Continental
Recognizing a Knit and Purl Stitch
The hallmark of a knit stitch is that it looks like a “V” (I like to think of a V-neck sweater).
The hallmark of a purl stitch is that is it looks like a horizontal line “–” (I like to think of a turtleneck sweater). This is called the “purl bump.”
These two stitches are the fundamental stitches of knitting. Each stitch is the exact opposite of the other – it’s really just one stitch, seen from either side.
