Knit & purl

Every knitted fabric is some combination of two stitches: the knit and the purl. Once you know both and can tell them apart, you can read and follow almost any pattern.

Knit (k)

A knit stitch pulls the working yarn through the previous stitch from the back of the fabric to the front. It looks like a tiny "V" on the side facing you. In patterns, "k" or "K" means "knit one stitch"; "k5" means "knit five in a row".

Purl (p)

A purl is the exact mirror of a knit: the yarn is pulled through from the front to the back. A purl looks like a small horizontal bump. It's literally the back of a knit stitch.

What you can make with just these two

• Garter stitch: knit every row. Squishy, bumpy, reversible.
• Stockinette: knit one row, purl the next. Smooth Vs on the front, bumps on the back.
• Ribbing: alternating knits and purls in the same row — e.g. k1, p1. Stretchy, great for cuffs.
• Seed stitch: like 1x1 ribbing but offset each row. Pebbly texture, reversible.

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