Not Sure In Which Direction You Should Be Knitting?
This post will help you determine in which direction you should be knitting if you are unsure.
This is one of 5 posts dedicated to Common Knit Errors and how to fix them.
Knit Errors And How to Prevent And Fix Them
This is one of 5 posts that address certain knit errors; how to diagnose, prevent, and fix them. See the other posts here:
It’s a common conundrum
You put your knitting down and when you pick it up, you aren’t sure which direction you should be knitting or if you should be knitting or purling!
Take a look at the image below. Let’s say this is what you see when you sit down to resume your knitting.
Table of Contents
What you need to do is determine where the working yarn is. Unless you are beginning a new row, your working yard should be on your right-hand needle.
How to Determine In Which Direction You Should Be Knitting
You can see in the image below that the working yarn is attached to the right-hand needle. Since the knit stitch is facing you with the working yarn on the right needle, you know you were in the middle of knitting when you put your work down. All you need to do is continue to knit the next stitch on the left needle.
In the image below, the working yarn is on the right side and purl stitches are facing out. Therefore, I know I was working on a purl row and should just continue that row.
The only ‘exception’ to that rule is when you are at the beginning or end of a row. At the beginning of a row, the working yarn will be on the left needle until you work the first stitch and put it on your right needle. In the image below, I know I will purl this row.
Like all skills, the more you practice your knitting the more you will become proficient in reading your work. And you will also become an expert at not only preventing but diagnosing and curing your knit errors. One way to become a more experienced knitter is to force some of these mistakes; not only will you become aware of what causes the knit errors, but also how to fix them.
If you want to learn how to knit or are looking to brush up on your knitting skills and knowledge, pop over to the How to Knit page, which houses all of the posts that teach knitting skills. Or, you could go ahead and visit each one by clicking the links below.
All About Knitting
- All About Yarn, including different fibers and weights, how to read a yarn label, and a Yarn Weights Chart
- All About Knitting Needles, including material, sizes, styles, and a Needle Conversion Chart.
- How to Cast On Using the Long-Tail Method, including calculating how much yarn is needed to cast on and how to make a slip knot.
- How to Knit the Knit Stitch
- How to Knit the Purl Stitch
- How to Knit the Seed Stitch
- How to Bind Off, including how to weave in your loose ends.
- How to Read a Knit Pattern, including a Common Knitting Abbreviations Chart.
- This simple Garter Knit Dishcloth will let you put all your new skills to good use!
- How to Block Your Knitting.
- Common Knit Errors; How to Prevent or Diagnose and Fix Them
- Join yarn using the Russian Join
- How to seam pieces of knit fabric with the Mattress Stitch (for sweaters, tops, pillows, etc…)
- How to Knit in the Round with Circular Needles
- How to Knit in the Round with Double-Pointed Needles
- How to Knit in the Round using the Magic Loop Technique.
- Organize Your Knitting with these free printables.
- Check out our Gift Ideas for Knitters.
To refer back to this post about which direction you should be knitting when you pick it back up, bookmark this page or pin the following image.
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