Loom knitting "knit" stitch definition - let's clear some things up!

Let me begin by saying I am by no means an expert. I am merely sharing knowledge I've picked up over the past few years. I've technically known how to needle knit for over 30 years -- I learned when I was 8 years old or so. I did not, however, devoted too much time to needle knitting since there were many other crafty sort of things I was more interested in. Loom knitting piqued my interest almost 3 years ago and then I became a lot more interested in needle knitting as a result. I starting truly studying needle knitting and playing around with it so I could convert it over to the loom for my own personal use and to open myself up to more design ideas on the loom.

Over the past several years I have seen the subject come up over and over again on my loom knitting forums about the difference between the regular knit stitch, the e-wrap knit stitch, the flat knit stitch, and the reverse purl. To a new loom knitter, this causes a great deal of confusion! I know, I've been there! When a new loom knitter thinks they have things all figured out they come across a pattern that says they need to use the "flat stitch" and it then it says to knit in stockinette stitch (more on that later) and they get all confused because all along they thought they were doing stockinette stitch when they were e-wrapping and knitting off for row after row after row straight! Arrrrrrrrrrgh!

Just as with needle knitting, there are several ways to make a "knit" stitch in loom knitting. Here they are with a little explanation:

Flat Knit Stitch = lay the working yarn ABOVE the loop on the peg and with the loom tool take the loop and bring it up and over the working yarn creating a new loop (this can be a very tight stitch). Here is a video demonstrating the flat knit stitch on the loom.

U-wrap Knit Stitch = lay working yarn ABOVE the loop on the peg and
slightly wrap this working yarn around the peg and towards the inside of the loom. Take the loom tool and bring the loop up and over the working yarn (this is a way to make the flat knit stitch less tight). Here is a video demonstration of this version of the "knit" stitch.

Regular Knit stitch or what some refer to as the Reverse Purl stitch= lay the working yarn over the loop on the peg and with the loom tool, come from under the loop and snag the working yarn to create a new loop, take the old loop off of the peg and replace with the new loop (this stitch resembles the knit stitch created from standard needle knitting the most). You can watch a video of the regular knit stitch here.

E-wrap or what you may see referred to as the Twisted Knit Stitch =e-wrap all the pegs and then e-wrap each peg again. With the loom tool bring the bottom loop up and over the top loop. Video demonstration here.

All of the above "knit" stitches are used in combination with the "purl" stitch to create all kinds of lovely fabrics out of yarn!

The Purl stitch = lay the working yarn BENEATH the loop on the peg
and with your loom tool come from above the loop and snag the working yarn creating a new loop, remove the old loop and replace with the new loop. Isela demonstrates this stitch here.

When a pattern says to knit in stockinette stitch for "x" amount of inches you can use ANY of the above mentioned "knit" stitches (i.e. flat knit, regular knit/reverse purl, e-wrap/twisted knit stitch). You will want to use whichever one gets you to gauge on the pattern. The stockinette stitch is a series of knit stitches that produce a smooth fabric which tends to curl since there are not any counter balance stitches used.

To create a stitch pattern that is referred to as the "garter stitch" on the loom you will knit one row in all "knit" stitches and one row of all "purl" stitches. A garter stitch pattern is a bumpy fabric and is also a fabric that will lay flat since it is counter balanced from the knits and purls.

To do a one by one Rib stitch you will do the following: *Knit one stitch, purl one stitch, repeat from * to end of row or round. On the next row or round do the same. If you want to do a two by two rib you would knit 2, purl 2.

Looking for the Sun

I have to admit I've been pretty sad lately. The loss of my friend has been very hard on me. My children are heartbroken and very sad. We all feel as though the sun won't shine here again. I even saw the Schwan's man today and this wonderfully kind man knew who my friend was because he used to see her every other week when she worked in our home. He too was saddened by her passing. He said she was such a sweet lady.

In order to pull myself out of my grief, I've been working on lots of patterns. I am tossing around the idea of making them into a book. I even checked into self publishing them with a company called Trafford Publishing. Their publishing packages are definately doable and it is definately a dream of mine to be a published author. I even have several children's books I could publish with this company too. I would need to illustrate them myself, of course, since I couldn't afford to hire out an illustrator.


I have also have been needle knitting to try out new techniques to convert over to my looms. I fell in love with the reverse stockinette and regular stockinette to create patterns on my cloths rather than using stockinette with purls to get pictures. It creates what looks like an embossed image and I just love the look of it.


One of my goals for this year was to learn cables on both my looms and the needles. I posted a picture of my success story on my loom (thanks to Isela's wonderful Cabled Mittens pattern) a while back. I sat down and started working on the Inspired AllOver Spa Cabled Cloth in the March 2008 issue of Creative Knitting Magazine, and finished around the time of my friend's death. Other than a few small (barely noticable) mistakes, it went fairly well. I of course had to go out and find a book with more cables for knitting needles onces I finished it. I checked out a book at the library called The Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet Stitches from Reader's Digest, with lots of cables for me to try :D

I must be getting better with my needles since they have been what I reach for lately. My March Loom Along pattern is still sitting on my loom and I don't have much desire to finish it! I will be heading to the doctor today so maybe I'll bring it along and work on it while I wait.

I am the designer for the May Loom Along on the Loomin' Dishcloths group over on Ravelry. I have the pattern picture designed, I am just working out the technique for the loom (it is a needle knitting technique). I am crossing my fingers it works out! If not, I'll think of something so it is super fun to knit up! Hope to see you over there!