Slipping stitches instead, to avoid purling…

Hello,

Lately I’ve really been trying to avoid purling because I just don’t love it, and it struck me that I could do some thing else instead, even though it would make the end result look different.

When, in any given pattern, it says to purl, what structural difference would it make if I slipped those stitches instead? (I have knitted patterns with intentional slip-stitches as part of the pattern, and I do like the look.)

Example:
Knitting a hat in the round - body, not brim…
P1, K1 pattern (or vice-versa)
K2, P1, K2 pattern
etc…

Thinking that the decreases might need to return to purls in order to create another border, of sorts, kind of like the brim…?

Just really want to make sure that the choice to change the pattern in this way would be aesthetic only, and not cause any structural issues.

Thank you!

It’s an interesting idea. Slipping a stitch means it’s going to pull up on the yarn strand when it’s knit on some following row. You’ll have to take care that the slipped stitch is eventually knit of course, as you can’t continue to slip the same stitch over more than a few rows. If you stagger the slipped stitches you should be able to work out some nice patterns.
You can also continue to work patterns written with slipped stitches that contain mostly knit sts.

I’ve wondered if knitters would like purl sts more if they learned to purl first rather than learning the knit stitch first.

I considered doing a yo and slipping a stitch then making it a knit with the yo on the way back. Knitting in the round that wouldn’t work, just for knitting flat. I knit Continenetal (I hold the yarn in my left hand) and learned to purl about the same time I learned knits. My purling was a nightmare until I learned Norwegian purling and that made all the difference. Tensioning the yarn was very difficult but N. purling made it easy with the yarn always in back. Now I don’t mind purling. I don’t know of other ways for throwers who hold the yarn in the right hand to do purls than the standard way. I can manage, barely, to knit with yarn in my right hand but have yet to complete more than one purl at a time that way and then the purl is sloppy.

I think you aremon to something there.

I am a British thrower and purl is just as comfortable as knit for me and although I didn’t learn purl first, I did learn both as the same time.
I learned the continental style with yarn in left hand after I joined this forum a couple of years, and admittedly purl is not quite as comfortable that way but I made a point of persevering with purl so I can do colour work with yarn on both sides. I love it!

@IvyMarie this is not what you asked but I wonder if you have looked into traveling and twisted stitches? I was looking st these recently and some lovely patterns can be made with all knit stitches. Some of the patterns do use purl to set off the travelling cables but some have the movement all in the direction of the knit stitches. It’s cool. There is a photo here as example


Source here

I love these textures.

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Thank you! It’s funny - I was just talking with someone last night about that exact idea - whether learning purls first would make a difference….

Thank you - and yes, I’d love to try Norwegian purling, but I’m a thrower, and I haven’t practiced continental knitting enough yet to be comfortable with it. If I ever get there, I’ll definitely incorporate the Norwegian purl.

I hadn’t even heard of that - thank you so much!

First I want to say that Continental is nor is better than nor is it superior to English style knitting other than on an individual basis. I remembered seeing this video. Since I haven’t been able to conquer English style I haven’t tried it and have no idea if it’s of any value.

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I just realised, I said I’m an English style thrower. I’m not. I’m a flicker.

Having just watched a dozen or so videos I don’t see any that demonstrate how I personally tension and flick but many are similar-ish. Flicking is where you keep hold of the right needle instead of dropping it to pick up the yarn and wrap it. The movement of the fingers and working yarn is almost identical whether you knit, bring the yarn forward, or purl, or bring the yarn back. I think this is why I don’t mind purling, it feels no different (very little different) to knitting.
All the videos I have seen have quite a long bit of working yarn held tensioned upwards and my syle is not like that But even so, its flicking.
I’m not saying you should change the way you knit, but thought I’d mention in case it interested you.

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Thank you - I must have seen that before as it was half-watched already, but I’ll be watching it again!

Thank you - I’ve been trying for a little while to transition to flicking because of the economy of movement. Like you, I always see the example of the long bit of yarn held upwards. I’ll try modifying and see what happens!

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OK, I have to back track again and say I’m not a flicker. I have eventually found a video or two which are much closer to how I knit,
In the sources I’ve read /watched it has been called pencil knitting or parlour knitting.
A while back I saw a roxanne richardson tutorial (I’m a fan) where she laughed at an animation saying some knitters had been drawn and animated in a wrong and hilarious way with their hand under the needle. Well, that was the only time I didn’t like what rox said as I have my right hand under the needle and to me it is totally normal.

Well, I thought I’d mention to
A) correct what i previously said and
B) maybe you’d like this method?


Edited to add this one
This knitter does let go of the needle at times but when they get into the flow they keep the needle supported for both knits and purls. Well I’ve never seen a video like this before which is closer to how I knit, although I knit more quickly as this video is for beginners and this method can get quite quick

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In general I think whatever knitting style one is most comfortable with is the best. There are super fast stockinette knitters from both the Continental and from the English knitting camps. However, if one need to knit what @IvyMarie wrote in the first post (P1,K1 repetitions) then I think the Continental style is better suited for speed.

Because I do teach knitting courses, I have spent hours trying to find any video showing someone knitting with a good speed a ribbing in English style. Sadly I could never find any such reference video so I have concluded that it is probably impossible.

Personally I knit Continental Combined style and I think it makes it easy to do P1,K1 repetitions. The Norwegian purls are also good and I have taught some of my pupils how to do them.

Here is an old video of me knitting (slowed down for demonstration) ribbing in Continental Combined style:

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I do not consider myself a fast knitter at all but especially not purls. I found the first video very interesting. I previously have listened to Staci Perry talk about her technique which seems similar (not letting go of right needle). But I don’t think it was broken down to the basics as this video did. Plan to try later when I get out my knitting. Thanks

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Besides problems if the slipped stitches are getting stacked on each other (which @salmonmac mentioned), the fabric will be denser so you’ll need more rows.

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Are shetland style and Irish cottage style, underarm or lever knitting not classed as “English style” in the sense of the yarn being held in the right hand (not in the sense that everyone is English)?

I’ve never given this as much thought and attention as I have today!
Now I think I’m an English style lever knitter.
I have been so many things today.

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I know I’m a Portuguese Knitting Bore here, but here I am, boring for Portugal again! Of COURSE we are all each to our own, and we all have favourite styles, and we all find it difficult to change even when we actually want to. I put in a word here, yet again, for Portuguese knitting not as a be-all-and-end-all method, I’m sure it absolutely would not be for everyone, although actually a huge proportion of the world does in fact knit this way (check out Andrea Wong’s Craftsy courses, or online, if interested in the technique); pretty much all of South America, not just Brazil which is Portuguese - and some of Eastern europe, I think. The purl stitch, in this technique, is easier than the knit, and most Peruvian or other South American knitting is done almost entirely in purl stitch wherever feasible; in other words, if they had a choice, they’d purl rather than knit. If you wanted to become a version of a combination knitter you could think about using Portuguese knitting just for purling? It wouldn’t be practical for a 1x1 rib, say - you’d be constantly switching to putting the yarn around your neck, or onto a pin. But for any long stretches of purl it might be worth a try? I don’t really know about combining, I only ever knit Portuguese style and really wouldn’t want to knit any other way, but that’s my own personal preference. I think the trick in life is at least to try things beyond the awful first part of the learning curve!! Give it a chance before eliminating possibilities?? I’ve certainly done that with both continental and English (I’m English, so I guess I had to give it a fair chance!). But I have returned to Portuguese because for me it’s the easiest, fastest and most enjoyable. Each to her/his own!

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I’ve done Portuguese knitting. I lost my pins. lol Working a Norwegian purl is much like working a Portuguese knit, reversed. With Portuguese knitting the yarn is always at the front of the work; Norwegian keeps it at the back.

Well I tried the technique in the video and it was actually like I grew some extra thumbs, my fingers got so twisted up. I guess I am destined to be a slow knitter and since it’s not a race, I guess I should say “who cares”. Hey, at least I tried.

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In the days when knitters sold their knitting for family income, knitting fast was important. For them to work to knit ridiculously, unbelievably fast made sense. I’m glad I don’t have to do that. They also started working on knitting very fast when they were children. I’m not the slowest knitter ever but I’m really not really either. I consider knitting a hobby and a hobby is for enjoyment. Some people have knitting faster as part of their hobby but not me. Among other reasons I simply lack the dexterity and ability to move my fingers that fast. I also couldn’t type fast or accurately even after years of typing. This is an interesting video IMHO and others might like to watch it too.

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