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Bad Purl - Help!



Last night I was preparing to start a new knitting project. I decided to actually find my gauge (which I have never done before, I know, bad girl) because I wanted to use my new worsted yarn instead of a sport weight that the pattern calls for. I started knitting my swatch in stockinette and suddenly my knitting looked textured to me. Hmmm...I looked at my other projects and they looked that way too. 


I tried troubleshooting online, but I couldn't find any help. You see how the bottom of my swatch and the gray fabric have a twisted looking stitch? The top part is what I did after I figured it out.


The back of my work had these deep gutters! Ugh! After watching several videos online I realized that I had been purling wrong! I learned to purl from a video when I first started knitting and it was wrong! I had been wrapping my yarn in the wrong direction this whole time! Of course I found that sometimes people knit this way (it's called a crossed stockinette stitch) to add texture to their work but I want to do it right. I got to work purling the right way and all of my problems are fixed, but I'm so fumbly again. :( So now I'm a bit frustrated. Do you have any suggestions for purling continental style? I'm so slow now and that bums me out because I had really found my groove. I am happy that I found the problem before I started this project though!

Help! What is your most efficient way to purl? xo, Sam 
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Comments

Betsy said…
I don't know how to do continental style but this gal on Youtube has the best knitting tutorials, imo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j21V-HJz1oc

I'm afraid to learn continental because I hold my needles wrong in the first place, heh.
November 15, 2011 at 2:24 PM
dlogan said…
Hi Sam,

I have a book that I would highly recommend. The Knitting Workshop by Elizabeth Zimmerman. It also has a DVD. She has a wonderful knitting history and her instructions are fabulous. Her daughter carries on her legacy with The Schoolhouse Press. She is a big advocate of the continental style and demos the purl stitch. I hope this helps. DArby :)
November 15, 2011 at 3:38 PM
Tim, Allyson, and kids said…
Okay, you lost me with the lingo, but mine looks like the top portion of yours. Is that continental?
November 15, 2011 at 7:01 PM
Bless by Tone said…
I'm from Norway... and I know from movies that a lot americans don't have the thread over the left index finger when knitting, but pulls it over the needle every time the knit a stitch - i keep it in my finger - the finger a little pointy - and just pulls the thread from the finger - then it goes the right way every time.
November 16, 2011 at 5:52 AM
MrsDG@TalesFromHomemadeHouse said…
The way i purl is to put the needle down into the stitch and bring the yarn up and around the top on the right hand side of the needle ( as opposed to bringing it up and around the left side). hope that makes sense! :)
November 17, 2011 at 8:14 AM
Annie said…
I often purl the 'wrong way' on purpose as it uses less yarn per stitch, perfectly matching the knit stitch. It is a great tool to get ribbing tighter and neater. If you have purled this opposite way your stitches will be oriented backwards when you get to the other side so to correct you just knit through the back loop. Just be careful with more complicated stitches as you may need to reorient the stitches to have them fall correctly.
November 17, 2011 at 10:00 AM
Stacy said…
Here's a link to how I learned to knit continental style:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuRLFl36tDY
Once you get over the awkwardness (did I spell that right?) it is so fast - just a flick of your left index finger.It's nice knowing how to knit both ways.For some projects I knit English (throw) and others continental.
Love that cute sweater pattern-great job with your knitting journey!
November 19, 2011 at 9:00 AM
mount laurel said…
Wow nice. I used to do that when i was pregnant because i was adviced by my ob to have a full bed rest. Unfortunately as a beginner i didn't finish it, hahahaha But this made me think to start and make one. Thank you.
November 22, 2011 at 7:23 AM
Amy S said…
My sister used to purl like that too. From what I can tell, it's from wrapping the yarn the wrong way. It gets twisted, and thus more textured.

I don't know how helpful it is to say this without directing you to images of some sort, but I hope you get it all ironed out. I love seeing what you whip up!
November 22, 2011 at 10:39 PM
Anonymous said…
It doesn't matter how you knit - whether by using yarn from left hand or throwing yarn with right hand. It's a matter of how you learned.

The twist can be 'corrected' by making sure you are inserting your needle into the loop correctly.

YouTube is a huge help for me. Search for whatever you need. If one video isn't helping, find another teacher, until you find the one that helps you.

Best of knitting to you!!

Marny in CA
January 20, 2012 at 7:07 AM
mike said…
Nice photo. Its meaningful and somehow sharing this to readers like me, makes me want to surf the web to be able to get more wonderful ideas.Thank you for posting this. Thank you insurance web design
January 28, 2012 at 10:29 AM
Kayleigh Garner said…
I learned how to knit from left to right instead :)
October 30, 2012 at 1:13 AM
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