Purl Away! The second stitch needed for Stockinette Stitch

Now that you have learned the knit stitch, (K), you now can take that 20 knit stitches, and flip it over and start with another stitch, purl (P). This great addition to your knitting will make you a knitting expert in the simplest and best knitting stitch,  the Stockinette Stitch, (ST ST).

Don't worry too much about tension or how your stitches look at this point, as you are learning!  Give yourself a big pat on the back for getting this far, and enjoy the next new step, as you are going to like the way the swatch looks when you are done.

Take the yarn, and place the ball in the front of the work.  Not in the back like the knit stitch.  Then, take your free needle, and push it into the first knot, with the tail hanging down in front, and then wind your tail around this new needle, counterclockwise, from front to back and around again.

Then, you are going to push, the new yarn into this inserted knot, slide your right needle from the left, and push your new knot out onto the right needle.

You can tighten the knot on the right needle, but keep it uniform as possible.  Continue with your new stitch until you have 20 purl stitches.  You should have a nice double row piece like this.

Yippee!  you have started the stockinette stitch, and great job!  Go ahead and complete 24 total rows, 12 knit rows, 12 purl rows, alternating with each row.

It will be easy to count rows, if you look at your work and count the bumps on the purl side up, or the little holes on the knit side up.

When you get to the 24th row, a purl row, stop, and go to the next step, binding off!