How to: Knit a Stitch

You’ve already grabbed your needles and cast on, and now you’re ready to knit. Knit stitch, along with the purl stitch forms the basic building blocks of knitting, so just knowing how to do these can open a world of creative possibilities. Essentially knit and purl are two sides of the same stitch- a knit stitch looks like a smooth little V but turn it over and you’ll see a curvy bump, which is the purl side.  Here’s how to knit a stitch.

Step 1

Insert the right hand needle into the first stitch of the left hand needle, front to back.

Step 2

Take the working yarn around the back and then down between the needles.

Step 3

Slip the tip of the right needle down through the loop of the left hand needle from back to front.

Step 4

Pull the newly created loop through- this is your new stitch. Let that old stitch at the top of the left hand needle go- slip it off the top.

Step 5

The old stitch is now hanging out under your new stitch! Success!

Step 6

Repeat steps 1-5 to the end of your row. If you fancy carrying on in this fashion, you’ll also be teaching yourself garter stitch!

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