How To Knit

Step 3 The knit stitch

As I mentioned earlier, there are two basic stitches in knitting, based on which direction you're pulling the yarn through the loop in. One way is called knitting, the other way is called purling. In either case, stitches are worked from the left-hand needle to the right-hand needle. When that's full and the left needle is empty, switch hands.

Here's how to make a knit stitch:

Holding the yarn in your left hand as shown. Wrap the tail of the yarn through your fingers in some way that feels natural - the goal is to hold it taut but not so tight that you can't pull more out as needed. Some wrap it twice around the pinky.

Insert the right-hand needle through the first (or next) loop on the left needle (pic 1). With your left forefinger, wrap the yarn around the right needle counter-clockwise (pic 2). You can also think of this as slipping the needle behind the yarn.

Keeping the yarn around the needle, bring it back through the first loop, so that the left hand's yarn comes through too (pics 3 and 4). It's easier to do than to describe!

Finally, slip the original loop off the left needle, keeping the new loop on the right needle (pic 5). You have made one knit stitch!