Knit stitch & follow purl stitch

[pcarthy]

I must be doing something wrong when I try knitting regular stitch and then follow up with purl stitches I am not able to knit after the row is complete - it looks messed up? I just started knitting on my own - so please forgive my lack of knowledge here.

[labeelady]

Are you knitting one whole row, then having to purl the next?
Remember when you turn your work, your stitches now all look like purl stitches, so that means you'll need to start with your yarn in front and purl across.

[pcarthy]

I am trying to do both purl and reg k on same row and when I go to the next row it just doesn't look right.

[cacunn]

Are you using straight or circular needles?

I assume you are using straight needles remember the on the Wrong Side (WS) or back side of your knitting you purl what you knit on the Right Side and knit what you purled.

RS k p k p k p k p
WS p k p k p k p k

This will give you a 1X1 ribbing.

The back of a knit stitch looks like a purl and the pack of a purl looks like a knit.

Does this help?

[pcarthy]

That second row I start again has - where I have purled the wool on the needle has like a thread across where I have changed to purl. I think I'd better wait for my lessons starting in Sept. I thought I'd get a jump start. Thanks for your patience and help.

[cacunn]

If I understand what you are saying correctly, you have what looks like an extra stitch going across the needle? If this is true I think you are pulling the yarn too the front to purl after you have inserted the needle into you purl stitch. When you knit the yarn is in back of the needle, after completing the knit stitch pull the yarn to the front between the needles then purl. Once the purl is finished move the yarn to the back going between the needles.

I think I know what kind of problem she is having because I am having the same one. When I try to do Seed Stitch (k1, p1 right?), it just looks like a twisted mess on my needle after the first row. I feel like there are too many loops on my needle and I can't see where to turn around and go back at. Since I knit fairly tightly, I pulled it apart and tried again much looser but that only seemed to make things worse. So far, I've just been avoiding Seed Stitch because it has been too complicated for me.

[suzeeq]

When you move the yarn to the front to make the purl stitch, move it between the needle tips, not over the needle. And the same when you move it to the back to knit. You've probably got the yarn over it, giving you extra stitches. Look at the video for ribbing or seed stitch under Basic stitch patterns on the Tips page. And it still takes several rows to see the pattern.

[pcarthy]

Thank you so much - I will give that a try and check out the video.
Maybe there is hope yet.

[cacunn]

all ready answered.