How to Purl Stitch Left Handed

Knitting patterns are typically written for right-handed knitters, causing frustration for lefties. With a little practice, however, left-handed knitting is possible once you get the hang of it. To create a purl stitch by knitting from left to right, rather than the usual right to left, follow the instructions below.

Instructions

1. 

   Hold your work with the stitches on the right-hand needle, and the empty needle in your left hand. Hold the yarn in front of your work. Insert the left-hand needle, which will be your working needle, from left to right, into the front of the first stitch on the right-hand needle.

2. 

   Loop the end of your working strand of yarn around the left-hand needle, from the back of the needle, over the top and then down in front of the needle. Throwing the yarn in this manner may seem awkward at first, but with time it will become comfortable.

3. 

   Purl the stitch by using the left-hand needle to pull the working yarn backwards to the left through the stitch.

4. 

   Slide the purled stitch off of the right-hand needle and pull stitch snug. Continue in this manner until the row is completed and all stitches are on the left-hand needle.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep in mind that patterns will come out backwards when knitting left-handed, so be sure to reverse the stitch pattern if desired before starting your project.

• Experiment with different ways of holding the yarn and moving the stitches along the needles, until you find what works best for you.

• Make a twisted stitch by inserting left-hand needle through back of stitch rather than front, throwing the yarn in the same manner.

Resources

• Purchase 'Left Out Knitter' instructional videos