i’m always on the fence between english and continental, but have progressed to ribbing/moss in continental. I hate the purl, that’s why I’m on the fence, but I learned the Norwegian purl tonight.
I think it’s really fun, but it seems like so much work for one little stitch, even now that I’ve gotten a little smoother with it. For those of you that use this, does it eventually become as fast and efficient as the “regular” Continental purling?
Thanks! 
I used the Norwegian Purl for about a week, until my Continental Purling got more comfortable…
So can’t really say, but it was a great segway between the English & Continental Purl.
[color=green]This post’s Swedish word/phrase: “Min brors flickväns hund heter Pelé.” = “My brother’s girlfriend’s dog is named Pelé.”
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I’m a Continental knitter and I’ve been using the Norwegian purl for a couple of months now. I use it in ribbing to keep the last knit stitch “stay” and not “fall”. Know what I mean? My ribbing has cleaned up nicely since I started to purl the first purl stitch Norwegian. Depending on the amount of purl stitches, I then change back to “ordinary” purl so that the first knit stitch lines up well.
I now find that both purl methods flow equally for me. Sometimes I don’t even know if I’ve actually made a Norwegian purl as I don’t think about the different ways to do them anymore. It’s all in my fingers.
So, don’t give up on Norwegian purl! It’s a great method for ribbing and other stitch patterns where purl stitches come after knit stitches. :happydance:
can i first say i love time differences because there is someone somewhere that is awake when I am? thanks to both of you!
i think i’m in love with the Norwegian purl, I am no longer concerned about speed or efficiency, it’s just fun. I have been trying to convert to Continental for almost as long as I’ve been knitting, but when I found out mom and Bubbie knit Continental, I really wanted to. The purling has just ALWAYS been awkward for me and so I have only been using Continental for ribbing, mine because of the looseness between the knit and purl stitches and it works lovely. Now, I’m doing some moss stitch and 2 x 2 with the Norwegian and I am thrilled to pieces. I love it too because it’s almost like magical, as I’m doing the stitch, I’m thinking, this is never going to be a stitch. 
and anna (it is anna?) I wish I could read Swedish better. A dear friend of mine who I’ve lost touch with is from Sweden and we worked together and I would call her desk and make her say things to me in Swedish. It’s such a beautiful and melodic language! You’ve given me warm thoughts of old friends even though I can’t read Swedish and I thank you for that and for the lesson.
I go back and forth, Sean; like Anna says, there are situations where each can be useful. On the scarf I’m making now, I slip the first stitch and the next is a purl, so I do it Norwegian and it seems to keep my edge tighter. During the row, I use whichever I want - sometimes the fingers or yarn are naturally in a better position for one or the other. It’s a scrunchable scarf, so the stitch pattern in the middle is K2 P1. Both my purls are fast now!
I think that purling Norwegian helped improve my dexterity so that regular Continental purling is easier. :happydance:
I think that purling Norwegian helped improve my dexterity so that regular Continental purling is easier. Happy Dance
I would agree 100%. I am really what’s called a combined knitter–picking the purl then knitting through the back loop on the return, while that works great in flat knitting, it wasn’t so great when using circulars or in certain situations (short row heels with yarnovers–sometimes I was getting holes) So I happened to see a knitting instructor knitting with Norwegian purl and asked her to show me how. So now I go back and forth using whatever feels right and gives me the right look. One day I realized that I was doing the regular Continental purling without even thinking about what I was doing–it wasn’t a struggle at all anymore. Will I abandon the combined knitting pick–I don’t think so, but I don’t have to rely on it anymore either.
Kaidy