Hi, everyone! Beginning knitter here… and a slightly confused one. A pattern I’m attempting says to slip a stitch, purlwise; then knit the remainder of the row.
If I slip the stitch purlwise, won’t this mean the working yarn is in the front? Do I move the working yarn to the back before knitting the next stitch?
Yes, it creates a nice chain like stitch along the edge of your work.
What pattern are you using? If you can post a link to it that’s great; otherwise the exact name of the pattern and the designer usually lets us find it.
Is this the first stitch of the row? If it is then probably you’re to slip with yarn in front then move it to the back to knit. The pattern should explain somewhere how to do it.
Are you knitting a pattern or making neat side edges? If you are making neat side edges on your knitting, you-tube has videos on how to to do that. If this is your pattern, I cede to grumpy grandma.
Don’t you have to hold the yarn in the back in order to get the little ‘beads’ that wrap around the stitch?
Where the working yarn is, front or back, when slipping a stitch depends on the desired result. If you are at the beginning of the row it typically in front but not always. You can try a small swatch of garter stitch and slip some first stitches with wyif and some wyib to compare. There are videos about slipping the first stitch too. If it’s in the pattern row the bar in front of the stitch on the RS may be part of the pattern. Or it might be written so that the bar is on the WS.
You have grasped the concept now you need to put it into practise. Get a scrap piece of yarn and a pair of needles, cast on about 5 stitches and knit all the stitches on the first row. Now turn your needle around ready to work the next row, take a look at the first stitch “the yarn is hanging at the front ready to do a purl stitch”. Slip this stitch onto the right needle as if it was a purl stitch, (your yarn should still be hanging at the front) move your yarn to the back between the needles to knit the next stitch (the same as working a purl, knit rib). Make sure your yarn is snug not tight when you pass it to the back. Do another row and you will see that instead of being a bead you have a nice smooth “V”. In my opinion it is worth mastering this technique.
As GrumpyGramma says Type “slip the first row purlwise” in a browser and you get links to video’s and tutorials. Keep at it you are doing good.
purl wise means you push off the look from the front, rather than back ‘leg’
I was only referring to working a border🙂
Is your question answered satisfactorily or have we confused you more?
If you are slipping a stitch. purlwise, within the row, you simply slip the stitch, as if to purl.
if you are slipping the first stitch in the row, purlwise, you will need to move the yarn to the back of the work, between the slipped stitch, and the next stitch on the left needle, to knit the next stitch(es).
That slipped stitch at the edge forms a nice edge. Cross your ankles, and you will get an idea of the completed edge stitch.
Wonderful. Doing st st my grandmother (who taught me to knit) told me to slip first st.
This method makes a beautiful edge for garter that tI didn’t know about. Always something new to learn.
I was working on the second scarf of my life (I’ve been knitting for decades) but didn’t like the edge, so I frogged it. I liked having cables on both sides though. Now I’ll start again. Thanks and thanks again - huge smile from this end.