This next project is going to teach you all about the most useful and famous stitch pattern out there: Stockinette stitch (abbreviated St st).

Stockinette Stitch

Stockinette stitch is the fabric that happens when you knit on one side of the fabric and purl on the other.

Remember how we took a close look at the purl stitch and saw that it was just a knit stitch in reverse? We’ll take advantage of this fact to make a fabric that is all smooth on the front, and all bumpy on the back.

Almost all garments (knit and machine-made) are made in Stockinette stitch.

Take a look! Look at your t-shirt, sweatshirt, or sweater – see if you can find little Vs (the knit stitches) all over the outside, and little horizontal bumps (the purl stitches) all over the inside.

So let’s try some Stockinette stitch. Work along with the video to learn all about it.

One thing about Stockinette stitch is that it likes to curl toward the knit side. Ever cut the sleeves off a t-shirt? The edges will curl, making an informal-looking edge – the same thing happens in your knitting.

We are going to use the flat-as-a-pancake properties of garter stitch on our next project, combined with Stockinette stitch, to make a dishcloth that will be smooth in the middle, but won’t want to curl at the edges.

This is called a garter-stitch border, and it’s useful on any project that you want to have lay flat.

Before we get started on the next project, let’s use Stockinette stitch and garter-stitch borders to really quickly learn about making swatches and checking your gauge.