I am not an experienced knitter but have gotten beyond the beginners phase. Here is my dilema, I am knitting a scarf on size 6 needles with Vanna’s Glamour yarn. Part of the pattern is knitting right side and purling wrong side. I am having a terrible time of getting a even rhythm with the purl stitch. Its not a comfortable stitch for me and takes twice as long as knitting the row of knitting stitches. Any suggestions? I knit/purl what I call the old fashion way with the yarn in the right hand. I guess what I am asking, does purling start to flow like knitting after ALOT of doing it? Thanks!
How to purl stitch swiftly!
Well, purling takes me longer than knit stitches as well.
I do the continental method, which greatly reduces purl time, but still, takes some time.
Purling takes longer than knitting for almost ALL knitters.
Each will get faster with time/practice, but it is likely that your purling will always be slower than your knitting.
Don’t worry.
ANy good source to learn continential (sp?) purling? I love that you have taken the time to respond! THanks so much!
Many people find continental purling to be more troublesome, though many have luck with the Norwegian purl method which is shown on the Purl videos page here. I find purling english to be almost easier than knitting. The yarn is wrapped the same way, you just insert the needle from back to front (or R to L) instead. Just give it some time, or maybe do a sample piece in purling every row to practice.
The easiest method I have found to do the purl stitch is using Portuguese style knitting.
I knit English style and find the purl stitch to take longer. Have tried Continental style, do okay on the knitting stitch; however, the purl stitch is a lot more complicated, awkward and tiring for me. I plan to try the Portuguese style as it does look quicker and less strain than the other two. Thanks for sharing. 
[COLOR=“DarkOrchid”]I use my left thumb to wrap the yarn around the needle, which makes it a little easier but i can’t really purl as good as i knit, like most i’m sure[/COLOR]
I purl and knit Continental style the same way shown on the videos here on KnittingHelp. I don’t find the purl “troublesome”, a lot of us don’t, who work this way. I’ve checked into Norwegian purling and it seems like a lot of extra movements. Portuguese purling is one of the easiest ones around, but the knit stitch is harder, so there you go. Can’t have your cake and eat it too. 
Rox from Ravelry shares a way of doing a Continental purl that looks easy (but for me it doesn’t work), but it is worth looking at. It will work for a lot of people. I don’t like the way she does her knit stitch as well as the one shown on this site. Link to Rox’s video of purling
There are so many different ways to work and they are all perfect for someone. Look around at the options and see what works for you. You need to knit and purl with the same style, or ones that work together. Like if you choose Portuguese you can’t purl that way and knit English, they don’t go together.
Thanks for all the help and especially telling me you cant knit one way and purl the other as sure enough, that was exactly what I was planning to do! Think I will tough it out and finish this scarf all english and then look into other ways for my next project. I am thrilled to have find ya all!
Actually I’ve heard of some knitters who make the knits continental and the purls english, so yes you can. It just takes practice to get your purls as good or fast as the knits; bet your knits were slow in the beginning too, but it doesn’t seem that way now so you’ve just forgotten it.
Yes, you could hold the yarn in your right hand for the purl rows and in the left hand for the knit rows, but what about when you need to knit one purl one across a row? You’d still need to revert back to one way or another.
Well it depends on the pattern she’s doing. If there’s ribbing, you just need to stumble through it with one method or another.
For ribbing, I largely prefer the continental method, since it doesn’t make you bring yarn forward and back.
Still, being a continental knitter, I think I’m a bit biaised, but I still prefer to purl the continental way. It just flows easier for me. Took me a long time to learn continental, but now I’m so used to it that it just flows quicker.
Whatever works for you
For ribbing, I largely prefer the continental method, since it doesn’t make you bring yarn forward and back.
Yes, it does, unless you purl the Norwegian method. Otherwise, you do need to have the yarn in front to purl.
Being a CKer myself, maybe what blueygh2 means is that when you knit the way he does, technically you have to bring the yarn to the front and the back, but you never feel like you are doing it, you don’t have to think about it or make any real effort. It is that easy.