Hello
I am knitting the Tin Can barley hat which is half garter and half stockinette, knit in the round
So the pattern is
Round 1: purl 32 stitches then knit to end
Round 2: all knit
I think I got my rounds mixed up and repeated two rows of knit early on. It was too late by the time I realised but I was wondering how I could identify whether it is a knit or purl row in garter just by looking at the stitching (like you can in rib)
Thank you 
All knit garter stitch or all purl garter stitch look the same. Youāll be able to see any place where you added an extra knit or purl row however. You can post a photo of the hat if you think that might help.
To me it sounds like it will just be your design element added to this hat to make it unique.
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/barley-worsted
Thanks Salmonmac!
I did tell myself that it would be the unique little quirk for this hat and would remind me of my first attempt at a hat!
Here is a picture. The erroneous row (or design quirk!) is after the first two ridges
Thank you 
So excited to have found this forum
Love the color of this Barley. Yes, it looks like an extra knit row, maybe your signature design?
If it bothers you then now is the time to rip it back before you go any further. If you do think of it as a design element, then keep on. Itāll be a lovely hat either way.
Iām nervous to rip it right back to there as I fear dropping some of the stitches and messing it up even furtherā¦ perhaps that is another question. How can you be sure to pick back up all the stitches when you pull out rows?!
I think I may just leave it as a ādesign elementā When the rib section is upturned it covers it anyway! 
Thanks so much for your support. I may well be back when I start the decreasesā¦
PS: I have developed a little technique of having two different coloured markers in place there and switching them each round so that I can remind myself which round I am on nextā¦
āTinkingā works to unknit sts on the needle but it also works with sts when the needle has been pulled out. I rip back to about a row before the row I want to correct and then insert the left needle into a stitch as I pull the yarn out of that stitch.
Thereās also a wonderful thing called a lifeline which is inserted every so many rows and makes the process of tipping back slightly more bearable.
Come back any time with questions or comments.
Ah, Iāve just realised that I do instinctively tink when itās a few stitches in a row but the idea of tinking 96 of them is a little more daunting!
The lifeline sounds great!
Another thing I am confused about is why purl is needed to create garter stitch when knitting in the round. I just donāt understand how it is different to knitting in rows - why a different stitch appears!
Think of purl as the other side of a knit stitch. When you knit in the round, you always have one side, the RS (right side) or public or V-side facing you. You never get to knit a WS (wrong side) row. In order to force, in a manner of speaking that WS row, you have to purl. Think of purl as the other side of a knit stitch.
That does make sense when you talk about it as the side that is facing you. Mystery solved! Thank you so much for your help.
I was also very excited when I found this forum, Iām always here now, learning soooo much!
Your hat will look great.
When you open up the fabric a bit, just pulling it down a touch from the needle, it is a little easier to see if the stitch you are about to work was a knit or a purl. This can help with deciding which stutch or row is needed next.
I like your idea of using the markers to remind you too.
Thank you for the encouragement and tips, Creations! Iām learning so much already too
What an adorable hat! Added it to my Ravelry library. If you REALLY want to make it a design element, you could āforgetā another row every so often. A repeated mistake is no longer a mistake!
And if you have removable markers, you can clip them together, and then when you come around, pick up the one thatās not currently on your needles. It makes it harder to forget to change them, if itās dangling right there in front of you.
I really like your hat. I second @ColoCro: Do it again on purpose; patterns are ideas for inspiration and your own creative choices. Iāve used this effectively more than once. The easiest way Iāve found to decide if the stitch on the needle was a knit or a purl is to look at the back of it. If I see a garter bump, it was a knit. If I see no garter bump it must be on the front and so was purl. It can get confusing when working more complicated patterns and needing to know knit or purl? for one stitch.
AmyLou53,
We are glad you have found this forum, too - I discovered it when about 9 years ago when I resumed as a 60 year old after first knitting a tiny bit as a teen. As you can imagine, I had so many questions and fumbles and salmonmac, Creations and the rest of the crew here never, ever failed to assist with grace and encouragement, not to mention humor and expertise. So, WELCOME!
