Posted by Rae on July 09, 19103 at 03:37:07:
In Reply to: very elementary posted by Charlie on May 10, 19103 at 12:37:06:
Yes, purling can be thought of as sort of a backwards knit stitch (I think! I learned knitting from a friend and this is how she explained it to me). If you do nothing but purl, it will end up looking just like if you did nothing but knit! If that's the effect you're going for, I guess one is only better than the other if it's easier for you.
When you mix the two stitches is when knitting gets more interesting. Since the two stitches are "backwards" versions of each other, combining them creates different textures depending on how you mix them. Probably the simplest mix (at least, the simplest for me, it is the one I learned first) is the stockinette stitch - knit one row (that is, knit all of your stitches from one needle on to the other) then purl one row (same thing, but with purling). This produces a flat texture unlike the bumpy one made if you use only knit (or only purl) stitches.
Hope this helped!! Experiment and you will begin to see how knitting and purling work together. Good luck and have fun!
: I just want to make sure I understand - is a purl stitch just sort of a backwards knit stitch? What is it supposed to come out looking like? And are there benefits to doing one rather than the other? What is the purpose of mixing the two stitches?
: Sorry - I'm clearly just learning