Combined knitting question

#1

here i thought combined knitting was when you do some stitches english and some continental. :wink: i realize otherwise thanks to Amy and I am LOVING it, but how to you do something like moss stitch? on the return row, you’ve got the twisted knit stitches from the combined purl which typically you would just KTBL to straighten, but in something like moss, you’re purling that twisted stitch. Would you PTBO or just do the regular combined purl because that’s going to twist it anyway or would that make a double twist or something?

thanks a bunch! :slight_smile:

#2

In that situation, you would purl through the back loop using the combined purl method.

Pretty much all you have to do (for any simple knit-purl stitch pattern that doesn’t have anything too funky going on) is to work through the leading leg of every stitch. If you did a knit on the previous row, it will be in the front; if you did a purl on the previous row, it will be in the back. Whether you want to knit or purl the stitch in question, if the leading leg is in the front, you will work it through the front and if the leading leg is in the back, you will work it through the back. It might sound weird to do a combined purl through the back loop, but it’s really not any more difficult than one through the front loop.

Hope that wasn’t too confusing. I used a lot of words to express something pretty simple, but I wanted to make sure it was clear. I fear I may have made it seem more complicated than it is, though. It’s really not at all, as long as you can tell which way your stitch is mounted.

#3

i think your reply is fantastic and i thank you! since posting, i found this wonderful chart at grumperina’s site here which answered the TBL question, but left me wondering if I would use the combined method, which you answered for me, so YAY!

thanks bunches! back to the knit! :wink:

#4

ok actually, i need to verify one more thing with you. on moss stitch, again, we’ve got the purl thing taken care of but now what about when i get to stitches that were KTBL on the last row and so now i have a straight purl facing me since the KTBL untwisted the prior combined purl… would i just K that normally then? does that make sense? i’m pretty sure that’s what you explained, you go by what’s facing you, if it’s twisted, untwist it by going TBL and if it’s not twisted, go regular. i guess this really only appears in things like moss stitch in combined knitting?

thanks again! :slight_smile:

#5

Looks like you answered your own question. :slight_smile: Glad it’s going well.

#6

When I switched to Continental I found it easier to purl Combined (in the other direction), and in fact, found those twisted stitches easier to knit on the next row. However, they were damn near impossible to purl. So I went with the other way of purling, and now that I’ve done it so often, imagine I would fing the combined way more awkward.
Incidentally, some people claim that doing the purl stitches in this direction gives you nicer ribbing.

BTW, that video Amy links to - a Norwegian one? - describing it as ‘an interesting take on purling’ is the way I found best… I can’t imagine how Amy manages to flick her fingers over the front that way every purl stitch!

Sarah