One Stitch - Two Stitch, Or, I can't tell what's what!

After you've learned to knit and purl the next step is to combine these stitches within the same row.  One of the most common stitch patterns combing knit and purl stitches is ribbing.  I my classes, the point of making fabric in a ribbing pattern is to learn to see the stitches.  When you are first starting out, seeing which are the knits and which are the purls can be confusing.  Also, when you are making ribbing, you're often told to knit the knits and purl the purls.  This is so you don't have to think about what comes next in the stitch pattern, just see what is on your needles - if its a knit, knit it, if its a purl, purl it.

This image of knit 1, purl 1 ribbing shows how the knit stitches resemble a letter V and are sitting vertically at the base of the needle, while the purl stitches look like a bar, or dash lying horizontally across the base of  the needle.

Notice the loose stitch at the beginning of the row ... it is a purl stitch.  Watch out for that guy, he often tries to roll over the top of the needle and pretends to be two stitches.  If you don't see the stitches you could easily fall for this and unknowingly add extra stitches you don't want.

Being able to see the stitches is critical when it comes to recognizing when things aren't going right and also to finishing your knits.  Seeing which are the knits and purls is really helpful when you are weaving in your ends and when you are seaming.