Alongside the knit stitch, the purl stitch is a must-know when learning how to knit. But don’t worry - before you know it, the stitches will be flying from one needle to the other.


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One of the most basic knitting techniques you should know is the purl stitch.

At first glance, purl stitches may look a little more difficult than knit stitches, but it is simply a matter of ‘practice makes perfect’. We will show you how to knit a purl stitch in the video above.

The purl stitch is abbreviated with a p.

Purl stitch: How to

  1. Bring the yarn in front of your work (so that the right needle works behind the yarn).
  2. Insert the right needle into the first stitch on the left needle from right to left.
  3. Catch the yarn with the tip of your right needle and pull it through the stitch.
  4. Let the stitch fall off the left needle.