Learning to knit starts with understanding the two basic stitches, and once you know how to do them, you can combine them into thousands of different textures and designs. This beginning knitting stitch guide goes over the two basic stitches, knit and purl, plus how to put them together in a stockinette stitch. Knitting is basically the process of pulling loops through other loops, and with just a little practice, your hands will learn the rhythm.
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Casting on.
The first step is casting on, which forms the first row of stitches on your needle. There are multiple ways to cast on, ranging from very simple to methods that are basically a knit stitch on the needle. The method I use is quick and easy, and although I’m not sure where I learned it, it’s the way that I’ve been doing it since I began knitting when I was eight years old.
I start by tying a knot onto the needle, leaving a tail of four or five inches so it can be woven in later. Then I wrap the yarn around my finger, form a loop, and slide it onto the needle. The key is not to tighten it too much, or it will be difficult to stick the other needle into it as you begin knitting. You should repeat this motion until you have the number of stitches you need.
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The knit stitch.
The first row of knitting is usually the hardest because the cast-on row can feel loose and unstable since it’s all by itself on the needle. Once you get past that, knitting becomes much easier to manage. Take your time with the first row to make sure that you don’t miss any stitches or split the yarn.
To make a knit stitch, insert the right needle into the loop on the left needle from front to back. The right needle should sit behind the left at that point.
Wrap the yarn around the right needle, then use the right needle to pull it through the loop on the left needle to create a new loop, and slide the old loop up and off of the left needle. This forms a stitch that looks like a V on the side that’s facing you, and has a little bump on it on the side that’s facing away from you.
This knitting style technique is called the English style or “throwing the yarn,” because the right hand does the motion of wrapping the yarn over the needle.
There is also the continental method of knitting, which many people find faster once they learn it. In continental knitting, you hold the yarn in your left hand and use the right needle to pick the yarn rather than throw it. The motion is smaller, and your hands move less, making it easier to build speed with practice. Even if the movement feels awkward at first, you’ll get faster once you practice.
The purl stitch.
The purl stitch is basically a backwards knit stitch. It makes a stitch that has the bump facing toward you, and the V facing away from you. When you combine the knit stitch and the purl stitch you can make different textures and patterns in the knitted fabric without using different colors.
Full disclosure on this stitch, I learned the purl stitch this way because the person who taught me did it this way. Technically, you should be putting the right needle through the front side of the loop, not the back. However, I find that when I’m knitting fast, putting it through the back is easier, and it works just fine, so that’s how I do it!
To purl in the English style, the yarn should be in the front of your knitting instead of in the back like it was for the knit stitch. Insert the right needle into the loop from the back.
Wrap the yarn around the needle and pull it through the loop toward the back of the knitting. This creates a bump at the base of the stitch, which becomes important as you learn to recognize the right and wrong sides of your fabric.
I’ve seen a lot of different ways to do the purl stitch, and people will fight over which one is the “right” way. The fact is that they all work to create a piece of knitted fabric, so don’t worry too much about it. Technically, I think that to do the exact opposite of the knit stitch you should be sticking the needle through the front of the loop on the left needle, but to me that’s tricker than sticking it through the back of the loop. Either way works to create the stitch, so however you want to do it is fine. Unless you’re entering a knitting contest where people will be judging you, all’s fair in love and knitting.
Continental purling works similarly to continental knitting, with the yarn held in the left hand over your finger and the right needle doing most of the movement. You scoop or twist the yarn around the needle, then pull it through to form the new stitch. This method can feel more fiddly at first but it’s quicker once you get the hang of it. Some knitters find continental purling less comfortable, while others prefer it, so do what you like and what feels right to you.
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Stockinette stitch.
The word “stitch” in knitting can refer to either the individual knit and purl stitches, or the type of pattern you’re making when you combine them. Stockinette stitch is a fabric that’s made of one row of knit stitch, then turning the knitting around to do one row of purl stitch. You turn it again to do a row of knit stitch, then back again with another row of purl.
When you alternate rows of the two basic stitches like that, you make a fabric that has the little V shapes all on one side, and the bumps on one side, so it’s smooth on the front and bumpy on the back. This is one of the most common textures in knitting, used in everything from sweaters to scarves. If you look closely at a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, or any knit fabric, you’ll probably be able to see that one side has tiny V shapes and the other has tiny bumps. That’s the stockinette stitch.
Knitting tension.
Tension is basically how tight you’re holding the yarn while you work, and it’s something that you’ll probably have to work on as you’re learning. If you pull the yarn too tight you won’t be able to stick the needles into the loops, and your final fabric will be stiffer than you might want it to be.
If your tension is too loose, the loops that you’re making will be too big and you might end up with a really floppy fabric or holes in your final product. You want to keep your tension pretty even as you’re working, or the final piece that you’re making can look like it has little holes in it.
Tension is just something that you have to work on as you learn so that your stitches remain even but not too tight. Each knitter develops a natural tension over time, and small differences are completely normal. I had a friend who was a really loose knitter, and everything that she made was very lacy and soft. It worked for her, but if you don’t want the slouchy look in everything that you make, you’ll probably want to develop a tighter tension (but not too tight!)
Personal preference!
Whether you choose to knit using the English throwing method or the continental picking method, both are valid and widely used. Some people stick with the method they learned first, while others switch once they discover what feels best in their hands. The important thing is to understand how the loops form so that when mistakes happen, you know how to fix them. With practice, your hands will develop a natural rhythm, and the movements will become second nature.
Don’t be afraid to try different methods of holding the yarn or doing the basic stitches. People develop their own tricks over time, so you can probably pick up tips from other people or how-to videos. But you shouldn’t feel like you HAVE to do something only one way just because someone else does it that way.
If something works for you and you feel comfortable with it, have fun and keep doing it. Knitting should be enjoyable, not something that you have to follow a bunch of rules for. There are no knitting police, even if someone wants to tell you that their way is the only way. Stick to the methods that feel right to you and have fun!
Video tutorial of the stitches:
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