How to Purl

Let’s Learn to Purl, the Opposite of Knitting

If the knit stitch is the first that we learn in knitting, the purl is often the second. The purl is a basic stitch, that works to create a bump, or raised bit of yarn, to add texture or shape to your knitting. If you can knit, you can purl.

With purling, a world of combinations and textures opens up to a knitter.

Maggie Schott

Knitting every row is called Garter Stitch. When you alternate Knit rows and purl rows, that is called stockinette stitch. Stockinette is what we tend to think of when we think of knitting.

So Let’s learn to Purl

In the video below, I’ll walk you through step by step. Below the video, I’ve included step by step instructions for reference, or if you prefer not to watch a video.

If you do watch the video – pardon my dog’s ears flopping mid video…it was better than the other take where he decided we were under siege from neighborhood cats.

In the knit stitch:

The yarn is in the back.
We start on the left side of the stitch
And work the needle from the front to the back.

In this case, we want to do the opposite:

Bring the yarn to the front of your work.
Start on the right side of the stitch.
Insert your needle from the side/back of the stitch, through to the front.

After you insert your needle from right to left, wrap the yarn counter clockwise. Then grab that yarn and pull it through. You’ll see now if you look at your stitch, there is a bump, the stitch from your previous row, sitting in the front of your work.

Note: I purled “backwards” for a solid five years before my aunt kindly pointed this out to me. I later found out that this is called Portuguese purling.