Terms
Our terms for this week are:- Knit
- The knit stitch is the first stitch you learn when you begin to knit. There are two ways to make this stitch. You can knit Continental, where the working yarn coming from the ball of yarn you are knitting from is held in your left hand. You can also knit English, where your working yarn is held in your right hand. Your working needle on both versions (the needle in your right hand) inserts upwards into the back of the first stitch, and you wrap your working yarn around the working needle, and slip the working needle under the old stitch. You will slip the new stitch off the left-hand needle.
If you're a visual learner like me, this video demostrates what I'm describing above.
How to knit Continental and English Knit Stitch (Youtube link)
- Purl
- The purl stitch is the the second basic stitch you learn when knitting. And again, as with knitting, you can you can either purl Continental or purl English. Your working needle in both versions (the needle in your right hand) inserts downwards into the front of the first stitch. You wrap your working yarn around the working needle, and slip the working needle out from under the old stitch. You will slip the new stitch off the left-hand needle onto the right-hand needle.
The two videos below demonstrate what I'm describing:
Purl Continental video:
How to knit the Purl Stitch Continental video (Youtube link)
How to knit the Purl Stitch English style video (Youtube link)
These are the very basic stitches to start your new hobby. Either way to create these stitches will get you results you want out of this hobby. It's what your hands feel most comfortable doing. I learned English, and it feels natural to me now after 10 years of knitting.
Next time: Knitting & purling in the round!