Keeping your yarn and stitches sorted out can be tricky for a beginning (and sometimes an experienced) knitter. The following are some yarn and stitch orientation tips:
- Unless instructed otherwise, always wrap the yarn counter-clockwise (for both knit and purl). You may also want to check out this video demonstrating which way to wrap the yarn and how to move the yarn under the needle at the end of the row to be set up correctly for the next row.
- When making a knit stitch, the yarn needs to start at the back; when making a purl stitch, the yarn needs to start at the front.
- Stitches need to sit the correct way on the needle or they will be twisted. See Figure 1 below, which is correct – the yarn in front on the needle is going toward the right. This is true for both knit and purl stitches, and if you’re working on either the front or back of the work.
- If you put your work down partway through a row, make sure you have it oriented correctly before you resume your stitches. (If not, you’ll end up going backwards starting partway through your row.) If you’re in the middle of a row, the working yarn will be coming off the finished stitches on the right hand needle as shown in Figure 2 below. (When you start a new row, the yarn will come off the left need until you finish the first stitch, as shown in the photo above.)
Cushion of Joy 