What is it:

The purl stitch is considered another basic stitch, but a bit more challenging than the knit stitch. Master both and you’re an expert of sorts.

Where do you start?

1. First, watch the tutorial video!

2. Hold the needle with the cast on stitches in your left hand and the other needle in your right hand.

3. Contrary to the knit stitch, keep the loose yarn at the front of your piece.

4. Then, working from right to left, insert the right-hand needle through the first loop (of your cast on stitches) on the left-hand needle. Position the needles such that the right-hand needle crosses above the left-hand needle.

5. Always making sure the loose yarn remains at the front of the needles.

6. Now, take control of the yarn by holding it nice and tight (but don’t break it). Wrap it around the tip of the right-hand needle, counterclockwise, from right to left.

7. Gently, pull the right-hand needle back through the first loop (of the stitch), drawing the yarns through the stitch towards you, making a new stitch on the right-hand needle. The “starting” stitch on the left-hand needle you slip off and you keep the “new” stitch on the right-hand needle.

8. Continue to purl all the cast on stitches. To purl a row, repeat steps [ ] through [ ].

9. When all stitches on the left-hand needle have been transferred to the right-hand needle, you’ve finished one row.

10. Health warning: make sure your stitch loops are not too loose nor too tight. Stitches that are too loose will affect your design, but make them too tight and you cannot slide the needle into the loops.