My knit stitch looks like a purl!

#1

So I am very new to knitting and I don’t have anyone I can ask for help with. I have watched all the videos and I have loads of books and I still can’t figure this out. If I knit only both sides of my piece look like purl. The books show a nice smooth V pattern and for the life of me I can’t do it.

I always have my yarn to the back and I’m almost positive I follow the english knitting to the T.

I’m making baby booties and realized it looked this way and actually cried when I couldn’t figure it out :frowning:

What could I be doing wrong? I can’t post a pic right now as I am at work :confused:

#2

Can you post a picture? Are you knitting in the round (double point, circular needles?) or flat.

Second if someone else looked at the baby booties would they see anything wrong. You may have come up with a new unintentional design element. Remember in knitting we never do anything wrong we just have new unintentional design elements.

#3

If you’re knitting on straight needles: Are you knitting every row? That will look like garter stitch, not like the V’s of stockinette. To get the V’s, you have to knit one row, then purl one row.

#4

I am using straight sigle point needles. I guess I thought the garter stitch would only be V’s. I feel dumb. Ha :frowning:

Nothing better than a panic attack over your garment looking right. facepalm

I need more irl knitting buddies. Than you for the replies. I feel like a goof.

#5

Don’t feel like a goof! :slight_smile: Most of us learned that the same way! Seriously, you have no idea how many panic attacks I’ve had over goofy things. :slight_smile:

#6

When you knit every row, you get garter st (not purl sts) which are Vs on the row you knit, but the back of a knit stitch is a purl st, the back of a purl st is a knit st. So to get a smooth side of knit sts you have to alternate rows of knit and purl.

#7

You are not a goof at all. Knitting is so easy and yet so baffling when you are learning something new. Even us ole time knitters still have those baffling times because there is always something new to learn about knitting, if you are that into it. LOL You’re doing well. Hang in there and we love to help with questions here on this forum so you are in the right place.

#8

Okay, now you’re officially one of us:grphug: …you’ve had your first “Tell me I don’t have to frog this!” moment, followed by a loud “D’oh!” I doubt there’s a knitter out there who HASN’T done what you just did.

Knit on, and enjoy unintended design features when they do come along!:knitting:

#9

If you knit on both sides of your fabric then it WILL look like a bunch of bumps on both sides, but if you stretcht he fabric up and down you will see the V’s inbetween those purl rows.

if you want to see ALL pretty V’s then you need to KNIT stitch only on the front, and purl stitch only on the back.