How to purl (the purl stitch)

The purl stitch is the reverse of the knit stitch: instead of pulling the new loop away from you, you pull it toward you, leaving a small bump on the front of the work. Alternating knit and purl rows creates stockinette stitch, the smooth, classic knitted fabric. If you can already knit, purling is a small adjustment. This guide teaches the Continental purl, matching the knit stitch guide, with the yarn in the left hand throughout.

This assumes you can cast on and work the knit stitch. For purling, the working yarn is held at the front of the work (the side facing you), not the back, still tensioned over your left index finger.

The purl stitch in five steps

With your stitches on the left needle, the empty needle in your right hand, and the yarn in front:

1. In: Insert the right needle into the front of the first stitch from right to left, so the right needle sits in front of the left. The yarn stays in front of everything.
2. Over: Lay the working yarn over the right needle from front to back, anti-clockwise as you look at the needle tip, the same direction as for a knit stitch. (In Continental knitting the wrap is always anti-clockwise, whatever the stitch.)
3. Flick: Push the yarn slightly down and forward with your left middle finger (or flex your index finger forward) so the needle can catch the loop.
4. Through: Draw the loop through the stitch to the back with the right needle tip.
5. Off: Slide the old stitch off the left needle. The new purl, with its little bump at the base, is on your right needle.

That's one purl. Repeat across the row.

If purling fights you at first, that's normal. Most knitters find the Continental purl harder than the knit to begin with. The finger flick takes a little practice. Once it clicks, switching between knit and purl (as in ribbing) is quick, because the yarn barely travels. If it keeps fighting you, the Norwegian purl is a well-known variant that keeps the yarn at the back throughout, popular for ribbing.

What purling lets you make

The purl stitch unlocks the two most common knitted fabrics:

• Stockinette stitch (UK: stocking stitch): knit one row, purl the next, repeating. This gives the smooth "V" side most people picture as knitting, with a bumpy reverse. Note it curls at the edges.
• Ribbing: alternating knit and purl stitches within a row (like k1, p1 or k2, p2) makes stretchy vertical ribs, used for cuffs, hems and necklines.

→ Confused about how knit and purl relate? Knit vs purl, explained

Common beginner mistakes

• Forgetting to move the yarn to the front: purling with the yarn at the back creates accidental yarn-overs (extra holes and stitches).
• Wrapping clockwise instead of anti-clockwise: a clockwise wrap twists the stitch. In Continental, the wrap is always anti-clockwise (needle tip over the top of the yarn).
• Looser purl rows than knit rows: many people purl more loosely, giving uneven "rowing." It evens out with practice.
• Losing track of which row you're on: in stockinette, the smooth side is the knit row; if you're looking at bumps, it's a purl row.