How to do a Seed Stitch AND tell the difference between your Knits and Purls!

Hi everyone and happy Friday!  I hope you've all had a fabulous week!  We've been recovering from Stitches West, but I'll post more on that next week...

I have been teaching quite a few classes lately and one question that comes up often is when you are first learning to knit, how to tell the difference between your knits and your purls.  This can be tricky at first, making it difficult to do things like a Seed Stitch pattern which I show how to do in the video.  Hopefully this helps those of you who are just starting out remember how to tell the difference between your stitches so that you don't get confused (as I did quite a bit in the beginning.)



One trick with seed stitch that I don't outline in the video is if you cast on an odd number of stitches when you begin a scarf or cowl, you won't have to ever worry about remembering what stitch you start every row with because it will always be a knit.  If you cast on an even number of stitches, you'll have to alternate starting with a knit on row 1 and a purl on row 2.  I find the odd number to be easiest for something like this.  Plus, if you are knitting a scarf, what is one extra stitch?

If you want to try an easy seed stitch scarf, try grabbing a skein or two of bulky yarn like Plymouth DeAire, Rowan Big Wool, or Debbie Bliss Paloma and using big needles like a US size 13 or 15.  Cast on 17 or 19 sts, and work every row: Knit 1, Purl 1 (repeating these until the end of the row and ending each row with a Knit 1).  Once the scarf reaches the desired length (1 skein would knit a cowl or 2 skeins for a scarf or double wrap cowl), bind off and add fringe or sew the ends together for a cowl!  Easy enough!  Feel free to e-mail me if you have questions: kristen@jimmybeanswool.com.

Happy knitting!
Kristen

PS.  Have you heard about the Stitch Red yet?  It's a great way to support Heart Disease Awareness!  Check it out here.