Ch 2 Knitting Foundations 11 to 17

8/14/2019 Ch 2 Knitting Foundations 11 to 17

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chapter 2KnittinFoundations

There are only tw o b asic stitche s. Like those spies in the movies whosynchro nize their watche s, we'll synchr onize stitche s.


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1 2 Knit Fix

L e t m e i n t r o d u c e y ou t o t h es t i t ches on your need le (F igures 1and 2).

Every st itch, knit or purl , has aright leg and a left leg as you look at it.The front le g faces you, the back leg isaway from you.

W h e t h e r you hold the work ingyarn in your right hand (English style)or left hand (Continental style), therear e four steps e ach to mak ing a knit orpurl stitch.

Right-leg ruleEvery stitch, knit and purl, has a frontleg and a back leg. Every stitch s hou ldsit on the needle with its right leg infront of the needle. Think right legforward. If you knit or purl a st i tchwith its left leg perched in front of theneedle, the stitch will be twisted.

Figure 3: Right leg fo rward

Figure I: These ar e knit st i tches.

Figure 2: These ar e purl st i tches.

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Knit StitchI X S T i t h the working yarn under andin back of the needle, place the tipof your right needle between the frontand back legs of the first stitch on theleft needle (Figures -i and 5). The tip ofthe needle points away from you. VFigure 4: English method Figure 5: Continental method

2 \V rap the working yarn counter-clockwise around the right needle,the one youjust put through the stitch(Figures 6 and 7).

Figure 6: English method Figure 7: Continental method

3Pull the right needle back justenough to slip underneath theleft needle and pull a new stitch alongwith it, through the old stitch on theleft needle (Figures 8 and 9). (If you'rehaving trouble grabbing hold of thestitch, see Tension onpage 16.) Figure 8: English method Figure 9: Continental method

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Slip the old stitch of f the left needle(Figures 10 and 11).

Figure 10: English method Figure II:Continental method


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14 Knit Fix

12 : Engl ish method Figure 1 3 : Continental method

Purl Stitch1 Holding your working yarn tothe f ron t , place your right needlebetween the front and back legs ofthe first stitch on the left needle f romback to f ront (Figures 12 and 13). Thistime the tip of the needle pointstoward you.

2 Wrap the working yarn counter-clockwise around the right needle(Figures 14 and 15).

14 : English method Figure 15 : Continental method

igure 16 : Engl ish method Figure 17 : Continental method

3Pull right needle back out of theold stitch and pull the new stitchthrough (Figures 16 and 17).

Slip the old stitch off the l e f tneedle (Figures 18 and 19).

Figure 1 8 : Engl ish method Figure 19 : Continental method


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Knitting Foundations 1 5

A knit stitch that's done correctlylooks like this (Figure 20):

A pu rl stitch that 's done correctlylooks like this (F igure 21):

C o m p a r e them. The kni t s t i t chlooks like a V. It fe els flat and smoothto the touch. T he pu rl stitch looks likea grain of rice or a seed pearl. Run yourfinger over the purl stitch and fee l thebump. The back of every kn it stitch isa purl stitch, an d vice versaw hetheryou're knitt ing or purling is simply amat te r of w h e t h e r you want that flatknit V or the purl bump on the side ofth e piece that is facing you.

Figure 20 : Knit stitch

Figure 21 : Pur l stitch


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TensionFor some reason, tension remains

the t o o -o f t en -u n e x p l a i ned mys te r yof k n i t t i n g . Yet i t is s imply tak in gcontrol of the y arn wi th your hand.Pret ty s t i tches require tension. Par tof th e mys t e r y is tha t your hand isdoing tw o th ings at onceslowingyarn as it comes off the ball and guid-ing yam around the needle. Soundsc o m p l i c a t e d , b u t it's not. W h y ?Because there's no wrong way to doit, except to not do it at all. Once yourhand acquires muscle memory ofholding tension, you'll do it withoutthinking.

A Few Ways to Hold TensionI Okay, this is the way I do it, butdon't ask me why. It's j u s t whatfeels right. When I pick up my knit-ting, I run the yarn in that crease atthe base of my ring finger and mylittle f inger , holding my fingertips tomy palm. Then I hook my index fin-ger under the yarn (Figure 2 2 ) t h i sis how I steer yarn around needles andthrough stitches.

The two best Continental knittersI know hold yarn tension in a similar\vay, "wrapping the yarn twice aroundthe index finger (Figure 23).

Figure 22 : Tens ion fo r English method

Figure 23 : Tension fo r Continental method

2 V A R I A T I O N : Some wonderfulknitters hold the yarn betweentheir palms and middle, ring, and littlefingers in a fist, then pinch it betweenthumb and forefinger to guide it(Figure 24).

Figure 24 : Tension variat ion


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Knitting Foundations 1 7

3 V A R I A T I O N : Wrap the yarnaround the little finger, under themiddle and ring fingers, and around thefirst finger (Figure 25). This is anothertension method that will work forbothEnglish and Continental knitters.

WHAT DOESN'TWORK : holdingthe yarn between thumb and forefingerto tension and guide the yarnat the sametime (Figure 26). The trouble is that itprovides irregular tension because youdrop the yarn at each stitch.

Figure 25: Tens ion var ia t ion

Figure 26: Insuf f ic ient tens ion

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Ch 2 Knitting Foundations 11 to 17