Knitting… OK… Am I accidentally doing a Purl Stitch? ?

Question

I only know ONE stitch… What I thought was the Knit Stitch… When I knit I always keep the full-needle in my Left Hand… So when I finish one row, I transfer the NOW full needle from my right hand to my left.

Does that mean that by reversing the position, I am accidentally doing a Purl Stitch? When I knit, I end up with an up and down pattern that runs width wise across the project… EVERY TIME I KNIT… but when my grandmother knits, the up and down pattern runs up and down the project.

What am I doing differently? I THOUGHT that I was doing exactly what she was doing… LOL! I’m so clueless… But I like the way my stitches look so I’m not complaining, I’m just confused.

Answer 1

Are you using straight needles or circular needles?  It sounds to me like you are doing the garter stitch. Garter stitch is where you knit one row and purl the next row which would account for the horizontal pattern. Your grandmother might have been doing the rib stitch which is knit one stitch, purl the next stitch in the same row. I t creates a ribbing such that at the bottom of sweaters, around the wrists on sleeves, certain hats such as tams. You can't accidentally do a purl stitch. The garter stitch is the basic stitch for all knitting. Hopes this helps>

Answer 2

<G>  No, you aren't purling, you're knitting all the rows and you have what looks like rows of bumps going across the fabric, rather than V's running from top to bottom.  This is called garter stitch.  Garter stitch happens when  you knit (or purl) every row.

If you want to get stockinette stitch where one face of the fabric has the bumps and the other side is smooth columns of V's you need to knit one row just as you have been doing, but the next row must be purled.  To purl, when you turn your work (put the full needle in your left hand) you need to leave the yarn in the front of the work and insert your right needle into the stitch from right to left and wrap your stitch to bring it through.

Answer 3

When you knit every row it's called a garter stitch. I don't understand what you mean by an up and down pattern but it would run across the project. It sounds like your grandmother is doing the rib stitch pattern which is knit 1, purl 1.

Here's a link to knitting stitches. When you click on the name it takes you to a picture of the stitch and how to do it.

http://www.knittingonthenet.com/stitches...

Answer 4

There are two different methods of knitting, called English and Continental.  You probably knit one way and she knits the other.  

Answer 5

It's kinda hard to tell from your description, but it sounds like you're doing it right. Maybe your grandmother is knitting a different kind of stitch pattern than you? The purl stitch is entirely different and you couldn't be doing it just by switching the position of your normal everyday needles. The only reason it would look different is if you're working on circular needles or double pointed needles. If that makes sense.

Hope it helps,

Katie