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WHAT ARE THE BASIC STITCHES IN KNITTING?

All of knitting is based on two simple stitches, the knit stitch and the purl stitch. Everything else is a combination or variation of those two stitches.

The knit stitch is made by creating a loop in the back of your work. The purl stitch is made by creating a loop in the front of your work.

It’s that simple.

You would think that two stitches would not provide much variety, but they do!

I’m going to provide an overview of some of the techniques used to create variations on these stitches. These variations are actually stitch patterns, but not commonly called that. Knitters just tend to refer to them as stitches.

It can be a little confusing, but once you’ve knitted for a bit, you’ll start to know when someone refers to a stitch (pattern) other knitters know what they mean. For example, a knitter might say, “I created the body of this sweater in stockinette stitch, but the cuffs and hems are ribbed.”

There are thousands and thousands of stitch patterns. Let’s take a look at some of the most common stitches and discuss the knits and purls that were used to create each.

Once you see the stitch patterns broken down this way, you’ll realize they are much simpler than at first glance. As I mentioned before, they are all a combination of variation of knits and purls.

GARTER STITCH

If you knit every row, you’ll end up with rows and rows of ridges. This is called garter stitch and it is the most basic of all knitted fabric.

It’s knitting at it’s simplest form.

We are often asked what is the difference between garter stitch and knit stitch? Well, you’ll make the knit stitch to create the garter stitch pattern.

I’ll show you how to garter stitch (knit every row) here.

STOCKINETTE STITCH

Stockinette (also known as stocking stitch) is created by alternating rows of knit stitches and purl stitches. When this is done, it creates the signature knitting that most people know. There are smooth little V’s on the front and ridge rows on the back.


Post time: Sep-07-2022