The knit stitch is one of the two fundamental knitting stitches (the other is the purl stitch). To make a row of knit stitches:
- Hold the needle with the cast-on stitches in your left hand, with the end pointing to the right. Hold the needle from above, with your thumb closest to your body and your index finger resting lightly on top. The loops should be facing the ceiling.
- Slide your right needle through the loop closest to the point of the left needle from left to right. Push the right needle through below the left needle so that the two needles make an X, with the right needle behind the left.
- Take the ball end of the yarn in your right hand and wrap the yarn behind and around the left side of the point of the right needle. Then, pull it back, to the right, between the points of the two needles. (As you do this, rest the bottom of your right needle on your lap so it doesn’t slip out of the loop.)
- Keeping just a bit of tension on the yarn in your right hand, use your left index finger to guide the point of your right needle (and the yarn wrapped around it) through the loop on the left needle, from back to front. Once you’re through the loop, push the point of the right needle forward so that it’s now in front of the left needle. The old loop remains on the left needle, and a new loop is created on the right needle.
- Slide the point of the right needle to the right. The old loop will slip off the point of the left needle. You now have a new stitch on your right needle
- Repeat steps 2–5 until there are no more stitches on the left needle.
You have now made a row of knit stitches. Row after row of knit stitches is called the garter stitch.
Turning Your Work
When you finish a row, you will have transferred all the stitches from your left needle to your right needle. To start a new row, you have to turn your work. Take the right needle (which now holds the stitches) in your left hand. Turn it so the point of the needle faces to the right, the loops of your stitches face the ceiling, and your ball of yarn is in front of the needle (closer to your body). The knitted fabric will be hanging toward the floor.
When you turn your work, you’re also switching the side of the fabric that faces you. Though this won’t matter if you’re knitting a scarf, it will matter when you’re working on projects such as hats and sweaters that have one side meant to face outward (called the right side) and another meant to face inward (the wrong side).
