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‘Learn to Knit’ MINI SERIES, Week 4: The Purl Stitch

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In case you missed yesterday’s post, hurry on over to GroopDealz to check out the lovely Double Rose Earrings for you (or a friend) and the sweet and simple little Growth Charts your kids (or some you know).  Both are incredible prices.  Click here.
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Yay, it’s week four of the ‘Learn to Knit’ MINI SERIES with Rebecca Danger.
{On a side note……..Someone wrote a comment the other day telling me that she thought at first that it was me taking pictures of my own hands and my own knitting.  And then she said she noticed the thumbs in the knitting pictures…………and knew it wasn’t me.  I laughed and laughed.  (Read this post if you don’t know what she’s talking about.)  That’s right, these lovely thumbs in the knitting pictures are not my thumbs.  They’re Rebecca’s.  And they’re nice and beautiful.  Ack……and mine are stubby.
And several of you let me know when I wrote that post about my thumbs, that I actually had clubbed thumbs.  Phew, glad to know that there’s a classification for these little stubbies.  They sure do the job though…….you should watch them in action!!}
Okay, back to the knitting…..
In case you have missed the first three weeks of the knitting mini series, you can click on the 3 images below.  And hurry and catch up with us.  I’m loving doing this right along with you.  (And I love my first-ever knitted project: a little green washcloth.)
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Onto this week’s lesson: The Purl Stitch
Thank you again Rebecca!
~Ashley
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Hey all! It’s Rebecca Danger again. That means it is time for more knitting! Have you been enjoying your knit washcloth? I know I do, I wash my face with one every night.
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Are you ready to round out your knitting skills and learn the Purl stitch? Good, cuz here we go!
Grab your needles and yarn and cast on 24 stitches again. (If you need help with the cast on, remember to check out Week 1’s post here)
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Get the yarn wrapped around your hand just like for the knit stitch. This time though, you want to hold the yarn in the FRONT of your work

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You are going to go through that first loop on the needle the opposite way you did for the knit stitch. Go in through the front of the stitch, from right to left

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Then, drop your index finger down so you can wrap the yarn around the needle

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Once the yarn is wrapped around the needle, pull the new loop back up through the loop on your left-hand needle

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And drop the left loop off the needle Tah-dah, one stitch purled

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Repeat this: Yarn in front, down through the stitch towards your left palm, drop finger to wrap, pull back through the loop, drop stitch. This is what it will look like a few stitches across the row

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And when you are ready to turn your work around and start the next row

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The trick here with the purl stitch is to always keep the yarn in the front of the needles.

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That’s it! You are purling! Keep going until your washcloth measures about the same as the knit one and bind off. When you bind off this time, you can purl the stitches instead of knitting them like I showed you in the Bind Off (here). Weave in your ends and you’ve got an extra washcloth to use! Yeah!

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You’ve got all the knitting basics down you need for most projects now.  How easy was that?
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Next week I will be back to show you how to move back and forth between the Knit and Purl stitches in one project. This is how you will knit things with the more traditional knit look with the little “V’s” to the fabric. What is most important right now is that you get the knit and purl stitches down and you are extremely comfortable with them. So practice, practice, practice, ok?
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Not getting my photos and need to see it in action? I recommend this video.
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Note: There are many ways to hold the yarn in your hand as you learn to knit. I have demonstrated just one way. If you find it uncomfortable, or it doesn’t seem to be working for you, hop on Youtube.com and search “Learn to knit Continental” to check out other ways of wrapping the yarn around your hand.
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Ashley Johnston

Administrator at Make It & Love It
Ashley Johnston is a professional DIY costume maker, sewist, crafter, and owner of Make It & Love It. She is a mom of 5 and a wife to a very patient (with the craft clutter) husband. In case you’re wondering, she always chooses crafting/sewing/designing over mopping/dusting/wiping base boards……but bathrooms/laundry/full bellies are always attended to. Whew!

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Hi, I'm Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!

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