Please help!! I am new to knitting and have had one class where we learned to cast on, knit stitch and purl stitch. But when I got home I couldn’t remember how to do the purl stitch. I have looked at the videos and still just can’t get it!!! Doesn’t the knit stitch look the same on both sides and doesn’t the purl stitch lay flat and have v’s on one side and bumps on the other side?? Please give me some simple steps to remembering the purl stitch. Thanks!!
How to purl
What they look like depends on how you use them together. If you do nothing but knit both sides you get what is called garter stitch. It looks identical on both sides. If you purl both sides you get the same thing.
If you knit one whole row and then purl the next row on your whole project you’ll get what is called stockinette stitch and that is the one that is bumpy on the purl side and smooth on the knit side.
If you need more than the video here are some more links. There are both video and still photos here. You choose either continental or english style depending on which hand you hold the working yarn in.
http://www.knitpicks.com/tutorials/Beginner_Tutorials__L1001.html
What Jan said - you do a row of purl sts alternating with a row of knit stitches to get stockinette that has all knits on one side and all purls on the other. If you look on the Tips page there are videos that show the basic stitches - garter, stockinette, ribbing and seed st.
essentially knit and purl work like this:
knit:
poke your right needle into the stitch on the left needle tip from “below” (poke TOWARDS the needle tip). your yarn is behind the needles. Pull the yarn through that stitch with your right needle. drop the stitch off the left needle.
purl:
bring your yarn in the front of your work (all you do here is “behind” the strand of yarn).
poke your right needle into the stitch on the left needle tip from “above” ( poke FROM the needle tip towards the stitch).
Pull the yarn through that stitch with your right needle. drop the stitch off the left needle.
The looks have already been explained above.
I hope this helps you.
Don’t get confused with videos: there are 2 basic methods of holding / unsing your yarn. The outcome is the same, just the method different. if you hold the yarn on your left, this is Continental style, if you hold it on the right / or throw it around the needles that is called English style.
things may look a little different, but they come out to the same. Just look for what is comfortable for you (and if you continue that class, stick with what they taught you for now).