 Purl Stitch (p st) is made by putting the needle through the front of the stitch
from right to left.
How to Purl :
 Cast on 20 stitches for practice piece. To make this stitch, the yarn is in front of work instead of back and needle is inserted in stitch over, instead of under, left needle. The wrong side of a purl stitch is a knit stitch.
Hold needle with stitches in your left hand. Hold second needle and yarn from skein in your right hand. Insert right needle through the front of the first stitch on left needle from right to left.
 Wind yarn over and under point of needle.
 Draw yarn through stitch. Slip the stitch off left needle. One purl stitch made. 'Slip' in knitting means -move (a stitch) to the other needle without stitching it. Continue to purl each stitch across row. The purl stitch is never used alone so to practice the stitch proceed to Stockinette stitch.
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To Bind Off :
 When
you have finished a swatch, you must learn to ' bind off' to hold it together.
It is necessary to bind off in knitting to prevent the stitches from raveling.
It should be done rather loosely. Slip the first stitch off the left needle onto
the right needle without knitting it. Purl the next stitch. Insert the left
needle through the front of the first stitch on the right needle and slip it
over the second stitch, bringing the right needle and second stitch through the
first stitch.
Then slip the first stitch off left
needle. One stitch is left on the right needle. Purl next stitch and slip
preceding one over it.
Continue across until you come to the
last stitch. Cut yarn about 5 inches from needle. Draw loose end through last
stitch and pull to tighten. Thread end into a needle and work end back through
edge. Cut off close to work.
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 How to Increase (inc):
To increase on a purl row, purl the stitch in the usual manner but do not slip the stitch off the left needle. Purl again in the same stitch by inserting the needle into the back of the stitch. Now slip the stitches off the needle.
 How to Decrease (dec) :
To decrease on a purl row, purl two stitches together by inserting the right needle through two stitches.
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 To make a Yarn Over
(yo):
Yarn over increases a stitch and is used in lace
patterns since it produces a hole in the work.
On a purl row, bring yarn over right needle, around and to front again, then work next stitch.
Stockinette Stitch
Turn work. Knit next row. Purl next row. Repeat
these two rows for stockinette stitch. Continue to work until you feel familiar
with the stitch. Bind off. If you bind off on a purl row, purl the stitches
instead of knitting them.
In stockinette stitch the knit side or smooth side
is usually the right side of work. The purl side is the rough side. |
Knitting is an all time favourite craft as it fulfills a basic need for warm clothes. It is simply the interlocking of lines of loops (yarns mainly of wool) made by two needles- an art that can be easily and quickly mastered. If you use your imagination, you can make sweaters, booties, rugs, shawls etc in an endless variety of patterns and designs with a combination of Knit, Purl and other stitches. The earliest known samples of knitting date from 7th century Arabia.
