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Knit Basics: Purl Stitch

20th February 2022 Basics 10 min read
Knitting Tutorial - Purl Stitch

Knitting Tutorial - Purl Stitch

When you learn to knit the first stitch you will work is the knit stitch. After this will come the purl stitch. This creates a stitch with a 'bump' on the front.

Let us guide you through the easiest way to do this!

If you hold your yarn in the right hand:

  1. Hold your working yarn at the front of the work, close to you.
  2. Put your right needle into the first stitch on the left needle from the right to left.
  3. With your right hand wrap the yarn around the tip of the right needle from the right to the left.
  4. Holding the yarn with your right hand to give it tension (otherwise known as 'tensioning your yarn') pull the yarn you put over the tip of the right needle back through the stitch.
  5. Remove the original stitch from the left needle.

If you hold your yarn in the left hand:

  1. Drop your working yarn in front of your work.
  2. Put your right needle into the first stitch on the left needle right to left.
  3. Drop yarn from your left hand (holding the yarn) over the tip of the right needle.
  4. Pull the loop created through the original stitch.
  5. Remove the original stitch from the left needle.

Watch more tutorials about the purl stitch:

About The Author

Carol Feller

Carol trained as a structural engineer, and she brings that love of analysing structure into her knitting, creating complex patterns that are easy to understand, while her approach to process is all about testing and playing, and making mistakes along the way. That’s where the joy lies!

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