Knit and Purl in same row?

#1

Hello,
I am very new to knitting and everything I have learned (the knit stich and the purl stich) have beeb from this site (English method)…(I started out as Contenental and then my mom told me (two days into knitting and not very well I might add) I was doing it wrong…lol I know not wrong, just different, but, well, you know how moms can be <don’t get too mad, I told her she was right and thanked her for her help> so I switched and found that the English way works better for me. She then proudly went back home satisfied to have heard the words she has longed to hear…before she could teach me more.
So, my question is how do I knit and purl in the same row. I need to knit 13 purl 12 and then knit 13. When I do this I get a scolloped sort of edge. Although pretty, this is not what I want. What I want is a checkerboard effect. I have tried having the yarn behind and infront but to no avail.
Any suggestions? And of course, TIA :slight_smile:

#2

You have to make sure that you bring your yarn to the front between your 2 needles to purl and behind again when you knit. You might want to look at the videos on this site to clarify the stitches.

That’s the reason I stick to Continental knitting when I have to do any stitches that require me to switch back and forth. I always end up with extra stitches on my needles if I’m knitting English and not paying attention.

#3

As zkimom says, you have to bring the yarn to the front of the working needle for a purl, and behind it for a knit.

Amy’s videos on the two will help make that clear. Always move the working yarn between the two needles so you don’t cross the working needle which would create a YO. Once you’ve done it a few times it’ll make sense to you.

Pay very close attention to what you’re doing at first when switching between knits and purls because it’s really easy to forget to switch the yarn from front to back or visa versa.

#4

Also it may take a few inches for the checkered effect to show up. Do that for about 12-13 rows, then switch to p13, k12, p13 (it would work better if all sections have the same number of stitches, either 12 or 13) for about 12-13 rows and it’ll look really nice.

#5

Its just a guess and probably not a good one… but if you’re getting a scalloped sort of edge, perhaps you’re moving the yarn from back to front and front to back by taking it UNDER your piece of knitting. As the others said, you need to move the yarn BETWEEN the needles when taking it from front to back or vice versa, not below the work or over the needles.

#6

Hello Winblown,

I too am an old English knitter, taught by my Baba.

When switching from knit to purl and purl to knit, in the same row I always think ‘up and over’. Bring your yarn to the front between the needles before you purl and go up and over between the needles to the back before you knit.

Amy’s video on the ‘seed’ stitch, English method is excellent at showing this as the seed stitch is a continuous K1,p1 over and over. So you really get to see the switch happening there.

#7

Thanks so much for everyones help. I am off to see the video on the ‘seed’ stich. And yes, to have all blocks be 13 stiches would make it easier, but, I thought of this after the fact…as I so often do <<sigh>> my hope is that to a non-knitter one row wont be so noticable xxkeeping fingers crossedxx
Thanks again!
Winblown