I am trying to teach myself to knit. This site is a wonderful resource. I am doing something wrong and cannot figure it out. My knit and purl stitches look alike. I have practiced with the video, yet they still come out the same. I have tried both versions of holding the yarn, the yarn is in front or behind the work according to the stitch i am trying to work, and I am working the stitch from the correct position. Any thoughts on what else I might be doing wrong? Thanks in advance!
What am I doing wrong?
Are you are knitting into the back of the stitch? I did that when I started knitting and that sounds like what you may be doing. My knits and purls look a lot alike. Make sure the side of the yarn you knit with is the one closest to you… not the piece on the back on the needle. I’ll see if I can find a picture of what I mean.
…
How are you practicing your purl stitches?
After I got the knit stitch down and did a bunch of rows of garter stitch, I started another swatch to practice my purl stitches. Well, I did every row purl stitch…which of course comes out exactly like garter stitch. This may not be what you did, but your post sounded very familiar to what I was thinking when I did my purls…LOL. So…now to practice purl stitch, I’ve been doing stockinette stitch ( knit a row, purl a row ). Hope this helps.
I second this suggestion. If you purl all rows, it will look exactly like you’ve knit every row. 
Stockenette is best to practice your purl stitch. Knit row, purl next, knit next row … la la la la … 8)
Happy Knitting!
Sorry it’s taken so long for me to get back to the sight to view your responses. I moved from Raleigh to Charlotte, and I have been knee deep in boxes for a bit.
I was able to find out what the problem was. Silly me, I did not go through the entire site when i was learing to knit. I practiced the knit stitch (front and back). I practiced the purl (front and back). They looked the same and that’s what was throwing me off. 
Little did I know that I was doing a garter stitch. I was shooting for what I now know is a stockinette stitch. A lady that I worked with was able to identify what my problem was. Now I know to reverse the stitch when you start a new row. 
One good thing that came out of this learning experience is that I was shooting for a scarf to begin with …something simple to practice my stitches. As I went through the video, I learned that what I wanted to do originally (stockinette) would not have worked for a scarf anyway. It isn’t often that you can do something wrong and have it come out right! :lol:
Again, thanks for your help!! :XX:
Sorry it’s taken so long for me to get back to the sight to view your responses. I moved from Raleigh to Charlotte, and I have been knee deep in boxes for a bit.
I was able to find out what the problem was. Silly me, I did not go through the entire site when i was learing to knit. I practiced the knit stitch (front and back). I practiced the purl (front and back). They looked the same and that’s what was throwing me off. Little did I know that I was doing a garter stitch. I was shooting for what I now know is a stockinette stitch. A lady that I worked with was able to identify what my problem was. Now I know to reverse the stitch when you start a new row.
One good thing that came out of this learning experience is that I was shooting for a scarf to begin with …something simple to practice my stitches. As I went through the video, I learned that what I wanted to do originally (stockinette) would not have worked for a scarf anyway. It isn’t often that you can do something wrong and have it come out right! :lol:
Again, thanks for your help!! :XX: