The purl stitch is the second main stitch in knitting. It is essentially a knit stitch worked on the wrong side of the work. The purl stitch creates a bump on the front and a V on the back. Purl is abbreviated P or p in knitting patterns. If you’re a new knitter and you’ve never purled before, here’s […]
Category Archives: Free Lesson
Felt is a thick, matted fabric created by applying moisture, heat, and agitation to yarn from certain natural animal fibers such as 100% wool or a blend of wool and mohair. Machine washable wool (“superwash”), cotton, silk, and man-made fibers will not felt, but can be used along with a strand of wool to create […]
The knitting technique used to create large blocks of color is called intarsia. Each color is worked with a separate ball of yarn, and the yarns are crossed at the color change to lock the sections together. Tip: when working small motifs, wind off a small amount of yarn for each color area and let them hang […]
These three caps are made only with the knit stitch — there is no purling. (The pink cap pattern is on my main blog, posted last January. The patterns for the yellow hats are below.) For washability, I used a soft acrylic microfiber yarn in a solid color combined with a textured multicolor version of the same […]
Knitting in the round is quite easy, and many people love it so much they never knit back and forth once they try circular knitting. It eliminates the need to sew seems, which can be an added bonus if you don’t like finishing. The only hard part about knitting in the round is getting started. […]
Garter stitch is the easiest stitch in knitting. In this lesson, you’ll learn everything you need to know to make a garter stitch scarf and hat. Holding the Yarn and Needles There are many ways to hold the yarn and needles in knitting, but the Continental method is the one I prefer. It works well […]
Double knitting is a very easy technique to master, even though is sounds difficult and looks like magic. You use two straight needles to knit back and forth, but you end up with a tube of knitting. It’s a great technique to make a double thick fabric for a yoga mat or rug, and it’s […]
Cables are made when stitches in the knitted fabric cross over each other. You place a few stitches on hold by slipping them onto a cable needle, knit the next two or three stitches, then knit the stitches off of the cable needle. These traveling stitches may move to the right or to the left. […]