i cant do a purl stitch :(

belettepetite · Joined: 27 Jun 2004 Posts: 21 Location: jerz

i try and try but it always comes out the same as a knit stitch . . what am i doing wrong?!

Shannyn · Joined: 12 Jun 2004 Posts: 65 Location: California

I seem to be having the same problem...except backwards. I can purl, but I can't do that stupid V shaped knit stitch...I even got the book from the library, "Stitch n Bitch," and I'm just screwing it up.

At least I'm not the only one struggling.

amanelle · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 347 Location: NC

Have you taken a look at www.stitchguide.com. I kept screwing it up, but when I watched the little video of how to purl I finally got it.

CraftinFool · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 809 Location: New England

I second the recommendation to watch it in video. Besides the website listed, I also had good luck with the Coats & Clark CD rom - it's a video - I got it cheap from half.com. It helped me a lot.

Shannyn · Joined: 12 Jun 2004 Posts: 65 Location: California

Alright, I know I'm not totally stupid..

purling make the little wavy bumps...knitting makes the little V's.

I still cannot make the V's for some reason. I can make the bumps..not the V's...and I'm totally retarded or something?

Maybe I'll get it eventually.

tickles · Joined: 04 Aug 2004 Posts: 9

Ok, I might be totally wrong here, but I just learned how to knit (from Stitch N Bitch) and I struggled with the purl and didn't understand why it wasn't working, since I was doing exactly what it said.

Then I realized that I *was* doing it right! The purl stitch is the flat one, but if you purl TWO rows, they aren't both flat! You have purl one row and knit the next to make it all flat.

Like I said, I am totally new so I might not be helping at all, but I know that's what my problem was.....

lilyblue · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 24

seamripper · Joined: 29 Apr 2004 Posts: 21

i had trouble with purl stitches for months after i started knitting...but then i bought a knitting guide for kids and it really helped me...i think it was called Knitting for Pre-Teens or something...the instructions + illustrations were way more easy to follow than anything else i read and i was finally able to get the hang of it.
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LolitaContrer · Joined: 07 Jul 2004 Posts: 46

When I was learning I couldn't quite understand the Purl stitch either. My problem was that I wasn't bringing the yarn to the front of my work b/f attempting the stitch. Meaning you physically take the yarn and move it betwen the two needlke points to the front so that it's hanging fro the front not the back. I thought that as long as I moved the ball of yarn it would magically work;-) Good luck. I llearned from a book that had good pictures, I think it cam ein a Learn to knit kit from Michaels.
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soapandwater · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 945

I'm knitting a scarf in purl stitch, not so that the Vs will show up but so that I can become more trained in using that stitch. Try doing ribbed; it's a lot of fun.

I love stockinette stitch, but it curls. I'm thinking the "homespun" kind of yarn might not curl, though, so I might try that. Purl is hot.
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ada · Joined: 09 Jul 2004 Posts: 87 Location: London, UK

soapandwater, stockinette pretty much always curls, the type of yarn doesn't particularly affect this.

To stop the curling, you can try blocking the knitting after it is finished - wet it, pin it out to the shape you want (on a towel or something like that), then leave it to dry. Or iron it: put the knitting under a damp cloth and press the iron over this.

Another trick to try is to put a border on the stockinette section - like, if you are making a scarf, do the first and last 6-10 stitches of each row in garter or moss stitch - something that doesn't curl, and so it will usually stop the piece of knitting as a whole from curling. Lots of patters for tops will put borders of various kinds (ribs are popular) on the neckline and the bottom edge of the item to stop these from curling.

Also, the curling doesn't matter as much if you are going to sew the pieces of knitting together, like if you are making a top - it only really matters on edges of the knitting that will be left 'free'.

CraftinFool · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 809 Location: New England

My first big booboo with knitting was: when I moved the yarn to the front for purl and to the back for knit stitch, I was bringing the yarn underneath both needles and the whole work. I ended up with some crazy ass rows until I realized the yarn just gets gently brought between the tips of the needles.

- knitting fool

soapandwater · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 945

Morganaofthewild · Joined: 07 Sep 2004 Posts: 1 Location: Berkeley, CA

I loudly second CraftinFool's recommendation of the Coats and Clark CD-rom. I got an arsenal of books to teach myself, including ones for kids. I got confused somewhere in each book. When I sat down with the CD and could watch hands in motion, I finally got it. I was knitting better in 3 hours than after weeks of looking at illustrations. This interactive CD is excellent!! (I got it cheap, too - at joann.com.)

BTW, stockinette stitch just tends to curl. I don't believe choice of yarn can prevent it.

Have fun.

knittin_kitten · Joined: 01 Sep 2004 Posts: 108 Location: madison, wi

i just got a tip on how not to curl from a stockinette stitch today:
always KNIT the FIRST and LAST stitch in each row, regardless of if the row is a knit row or a purl row. it's supposed to reinforce the sameness of the edges.