10 easy ways to improve purling [slow-motion masterclass]

A very detailed masterclass on how to purl with the 10 different styles to improve your technique

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This video is all about the purl stitch. Are you struggling? Well, there are more than 10 different ways to purl and probably just as many ways to tension your yarn, and you just have to find the purling method that suits you, your body, your preferences, and your projects best.
Purling is so difficult because, essentially, you are trying to create a knit stitch from the wrong side. It goes, quite literally, against the grain. Everything is the other way around, just like walking backward. So, it does take patience and practice to learn..and the right mindset.

0:00 Introduction
1:19 How to purl continental style
3:36 The double-wrap purl method
5:00 The anchoring purl method
6:06 The middle finger push purl method
8:09 The index finger push purl method
9:47 The thumb purl
11:41 How to purl in combination knitting
14:41 Norwegian purling
19:07 Backwards knitting (to avoid purling)
22:05 English style purling
24:43 Further tips on purling faster and more

[NimbleNeedles]

And feel free to comment any time if you have a question. No need to be shy! :)

[MbSaidSo]

I crocheted before I learned to knit, and my knitting has always been my own unique combination of techniques. I am all for each person finding the way that works for them. :-)

[LauraTawney-xuxe]

I really appreciate how you embraced knitting instruction from the point of view that there is no “right “ on preferences. I am very happy to not only see multiple ways but also here your explanation for the pros and challenges of the different methods.
I am so glad that I ran across you u-tube videos and I happily support you on Patreon.

[mrsmeljohnson]

I have been knitting for 51 years and just discovered that I have been purling combination style and that's why my attempts at lace stitches never looked correct. Now I have taught myself to purl with the yarn over the needle and pulled through, not scooping it as I had alway done. Seeing all the possibilities that you have shown is exactly what I needed to see, to help improve my efficiency and speed. Thank you so much. I have just subscribed.

[suzielarouche]

Thank you, Norman, for not being dogmatic. Your humility in admitting that your way of doing something is the best specifically for you and not necessarily for someone else is quite refreshing. In my many decades of knitting, I have encountered the knitting police so often that it’s become funny. Your style of teaching is so unassuming that I wish every knitter, whatever their degree of experience, would follow you.

[chezmanya]

I never liked purling until I discovered the Portuguese purling method. This works beautifully for long rows of purls but for patterns that call for intermittent purl stitches, I still have to do them the old-fashioned way. However, when I knit shawls that have long purl back rows, the Portuguese method is heaven.

[jenshipley]

You’re such an encouraging teacher. I’m going to play this video again with yarn in hand to try the various techniques and maybe I’ll finally find a purling technique that works well for me. I’ve been knitting Portuguese style for several years because of the ease of purling, and ribbing is so easy with that method. If I’m knitting stockinette in the round though, I switch to Continental because it’s faster for me, but I feel like an awkward beginner when I purl. Thank you for all the positive vibes. I will give it another go.

[christenagervais]

I'm a close continental knitter. I do the purl stitch the first way. I was taught by my Danish Mormor.I find if your tension is tight, the wool hangs on well.✌❤🇨🇦

[janelieder]

I have crocheted for years. Taught myself to knit using YouTube videos. Absolutely hated to purl until I saw your middle finger method on another video. Thank you so much!!

[nellloftin]

What a fun video! For whatever reason, purling with English flicking method has seemed easy for me ever since I learned to knit and so I’ve never hated to purl. Just lucky I guess. Still, I very much enjoyed seeing all the different techniques. Over time, I’ve realized that the angles between the two needles can made a big difference in the ease of knitting and can be changed during a stitch to ease things along. Thanks for another interesting episode.

[Tinepg]

I purl exactly how you purl’ed. I was taught continental knitting as I crocheted and you hold tension in a similar fashion. Purling! My instructor showed me how she purled and I modified it. Needle back to front. Pull yarn down with middle finger and flick off! I’m so excited to see someone else purl like that

[KateFischer-lgzp]

As always, Norman, I appreciate your 100% common sense approach to purling. There are so. many fads in the knitting world which claim, "Do it THIS way" or "This is right and that is wrong@". Rubbish. I've experimented over the years with all kinds of knitting techniques and find that some work better in some ages of my life but not another's. I'm glad to have a variety in. my knitter's tool box and you espouse that so well!

[leeway]

I always was an English thrower, continental knitting just never worked for me for some reason, but I always found knitting too slow so I didn't do it much. I ran across Norwegian knitting and that method just clicked with me. There is definitely a learning curve to the purl but I love not having to move the yarn back and forth from the front to the back, especially when doing ribbing.

[etainne]

perfect timing! my sweater pattern has contrasting rows of purl stitch coming in about ten cm from where i am now and I have been thinking I might want to try another method for those rows. I just love the parts where you have small issues with one method because we all have that and it's nice to see an accomplished person experience the issues too. Thanks for the video- love what you do!

[e.s.o.martin]

My Polish mother taught me how to knit when I was 10, and she taught me continental knitting in the Slavic/Polish style. I had no idea there was any other way to do it until recently. In this video, it's the "combination" method where we just scoop the yarn through the hole to purl and always knit using whichever leg is forward so that the stitches don't get twisted. (My mom always referred to knit stitches as "right" because you're on the right side of the needle, and purl stitches as "left" because you're knitting on the left side of the needle. So a 1x1 rib stitch would be "right, left, right, left." It's very fast and easy to switch between knits and purls, and I'm so glad that this is the method I learned. The way other people purl looks so weird to me.

[gina]

Life is too short to hate purling! As a lever knitter, the topic could make me smug, but I'm too busy stabbing myself in the hand with a DPN. Norman's message of finding what works for you is the best. It's a good way to knit and a good way to live.

[amandah]

Thank you Norman I am an English knitter and have always been happy with my purl stitches but I do appreciate you sharing all the other ways of doing them, Amanda xx💖

[annaapple]

Purling became much easier for me when I realised that in English (or Dutch) throwing, the motions for the purl stitch aren't that different from those of the knit stitch. Especially when you approach it with lever knitting in mind, and let the left hand do most of the needle action, even if you don't fully anchor the right needle. Some Shetland knitters explain it nicely for their knitting belt lever knitting. The right needle basically goes in-out-in-out etc, the right hand throws the yarn after every in, and the left hand makes the knitted stitch fall off the left needle. Angling the left needle differently makes the difference between entering the stitch purlwise or knitwise, and the rest of the motions stay mainly the same. This approach also minimises having to turn the wrists for each stitch (as needed in continental and Norwegian), and has helped me a lot with minimising pain.
This is probably not the clearest explanation, but maybe it helps someone 😅

[ragathnor]

Perfect! I drop many purl stitches. I think it's cause I don't finish the stitch entirely. I have to slow down and actually watch what I am doing...also tension is critical. Thank you for your awesome videos.

[Mummumster]

Being a Texan learned English knitting when I was 8. Now I continue to purl that way and I love it for me. However, I knit Norwegian and continental. Merging the styles has worked for me 😉❤️