Knit for Brains dot Net

A subscriber to this blog, a gentleman from Oregon, asked me how not to twist stitches when knitting backwards and forwards, meaning without turning the work. Without careful examination it’s easy to mess up. This article will give you an exact understanding of loops and what they do when you do things to them.

This will also help you understand what it means in any instructions when you are told to “knit into the back of the loop,” which is a rather hazy instruction if you ask me.

While knitting backwards is certainly a challenge to one’s skills I think Portuguese style may not be the best choice for it. Actually, I don’t think knitting backwards and forwards is a good idea anyway, as I will explain later, unless you feel it is the best solution for fair isle knitting that can’t be done circularly. Your knitting will be slower and again, and some stitches may not work. If you are just doing a flat fair isle piece that will be attached to other pieces, then it may work out. I haven’t tried knitting backward with any other style and I’m pretty comfortable turning the work. Why do you want to knit backward? If your concern is the difference in purl and knit tension in Portuguese kitting then consider using the pendant I invented or in focusing on making your knits looser. One thing I’m discovering is that when I knit a stitch, if I make sure to release most of the tension on the yarn except when pulling the loop then my knit stitches are looser. I can keep the “twang” in the yarn for purl stitches and they are fine, but if my knits “twang” much they are tight. Use just a minimum of tension on a knit to keep the yarn on the needle tip, then loosen up between each flick-and-pull. I’ve also gotten the knack of Continental style and sometimes use that as its tension is less varied. If I want an expanse of tight knit stitches I use Portuguese with normal twangy tension.

So, because I’m very analytical and a compulsive teacher/helper, and because this is a good lesson in understanding the dynamics of knitting, here goes…

To preface what follows I will pre-summarize the key elements.
1.    The orientation of the loop you are about to work will determine which leg of the loop you will work around – front or back – and that will determine whether you twist that stitch or not. Always work around the leg nearest the needle tip to avoid twisting.
2.    The direction you wrap the yarn around the working needle will determine the orientation of the loop you produce – angled left or right. Counterclockwise is “normal”, making a loop angled to the left. Always be consistent or you will get a mix of orientations. The goal of this article is to minimize compensations and prevent twists, so we aim to always make left-angled loops.
3.    What’s critical is not to twist the loop being worked. If you wrap the “wrong” way, whether by accident or preference, you can always manually turn the new loop or compensate for it being oriented “abnormally” – angled to the right – with working around the back leg

LOOP ANATOMY
Firstly, there’s a difference between the front of the loop and the front of the stitch. The front of the stitch is what will face front when the loop is no longer on the needle. In a loop that is angled to the right /// the right side of the loop is the front of the stitch and the left side is the back of the stitch. This is because when worked that loop will hang free in the row below the new stitch you just made into it and the side angled toward you most when it was on the needle will turn parallel to the surface of the fabric and become truly front facing. In a loop that is angled to the left \\\ the same applies. Knit loops come out the front of the stitch and purl loops go out the back of the stitch.

But again, the back of the stitch is not the same as the back of the loop. The back of the loop is the strand of yarn on the far side of the needle. I would prefer to call it the back leg of the loop. You read “knit through the back of the loop.” This doesn’t always explain what to do in every case, so I’ll say right now it’s important to be aware of the angle of the loop, as this will determine how you make the stitch, the angle of the resulting loop, and the twist or non-twist of the loop you worked it into.

An illustration of my loop and stitch anatomy terms

First be sure to distinguish between knitting into the back loop and purling into the back loop. Remember that a knit is where the loop is pulled forward and in a purl the loop is pulled away from you.

When knitting forwards, if your loops all angle to the left —\\\\\— knitting or purling into the back of the loop will twist the stitch you are working into. To prevent twisting when working Portuguese style backwards you must purl by inserting the needle into the back side of the stitch – which is the side away from the needle tip toward the front, and is in effect on the right side of the back leg of the loop. The needle is ready to be wrapped and to then pull the loop away from you. Conversely, you do a knit stitch by inserting the needle through the back of the loop from the side toward the needle tip and out the back, wrap it there and pull the loop toward you. in both cases you are working around the back leg of the loop rather than around the front leg. This is explained below.

WHICH WAY DO YOUR LOOPS TURN? YARN WRAP DIRECTION IS IMPORTANT
I’m using the marks —\\\\\— and —/////— to illustrate the loops on your needles when viewed from above. To make it easy to remember how they are produced think of the slashes as a hand on a clock. In the slashes leaning with the top to the left think of the clock hand moving in that direction – counterclockwise, and where the slash leans to the right think of the clock hand moving in that direction – clockwise around the needle tip. Clockwise and counterclockwise are important in that it is the direction you wrap the yarn that produces this orientation of the loop on the needle. If you observe your normal forward work in Portuguese knitting you see that when you flick the yarn over the right needle it is in effect wrapping counterclockwise.

This is the same direction you wrap with other styles of knitting except Eastern European knitting where all your loops are turned to the right —/////— and in EEK you always wrap clockwise. With counterclockwise wrapping you get left facing loops —\\\\\—. If you wrap clockwise, as in most truly mirror image knitting, you get right facing loops —/////— and are prone to get complications if you knit backwards and forwards together. Be aware that if you mix your wrapping directions when knitting backwards you will get a mix of angles for your loops — ///\\///\\///\\– and a lot more effort sorting it out later. If that happens a simple solution is to just manually turn the faulty loop from right —/////— to the left —\\\\\— before working into it. This would substitute for any of the corrections such as working in the back of the loop to avoid twisting stitches when working forwards.

TWISTING AND NOT TWISTING
Twisted stitches occur when you knit around the loop leg that is away from the needle tip, thus twisting the loop you are working into. Again, in most knitting the loops have their far side legs to the left and the near side legs to the right —\\\\\—. When you turn the work they stay oriented the same way. If you are knitting “backward” from left to right without turning the work you are heading into the “wrong” side of the loops and you have to work around back leg instead, which should be closest to the needle tip, rather than the leg on your side of the right needle, as you would expect to with Portuguese style knitting where you typically have your working needle always in front of the releasing needle, but that would twist them. You can’t just knit in reverse, as if a mirror image. You have to pay attention to the turn of the loops you are working into and the direction you are pulling or pushing new loops.

KNITTING BACKWARDS
In Portuguese style this means you have to knit backwards a bit differently. Before we begin the how to, remember that old stitches are twisted by working around the wrong leg of the loop (the one away from the needle tip), and new loops are oriented the wrong way by wrapping the yarn the wrong way for how you want them to be oriented. Again, wrap counterclockwise to angle them to the left, clockwise will angle them to the right and you don’t want that.

If you knit exclusively left-handed and turn your work then all your loops will be turned to the right (–/////–) anyway, and you don’t need any corrections and none of your stitches will be twisted unless you make them that way deliberately. It’s novel to knit backwards and forwards, but probably not a fantastic idea as it might make certain stitches or patterns harder to do. You may have to rethink decreases, increases, yarnovers and a lot of other things you encounter in various knitting projects.

LOOPS: TURNED LEFT OR RIGHT WHILE KNITTING BACKWARDS
Left-angled loops: These are the “good loops”. When working backwards (or forwards), if you wrap the yarn counterclockwise around the left tip your resulting loops will all be oriented normally like with forward stitches – near side right, far side left —\\\\\—  and you won’t have to knit into the back of the loops when going forward. But don’t get too excited: this is slightly clumsy to do and it seems the advantages of Portuguese style knitting are diminished in backward knitting.

Right-angled loops: These are the bad loops. When working backwards it’s a bit easier to wrap the yarn clockwise around the left needle tip but your resulting loops will all be oriented to the right —/////— the reverse of the normal forward knitting, BUT you will have to knit and purl into the back of the loops when going forward again to avoid twisting. Unfortunately, knitting into the back of the loops while knitting forwards can complicate stitch patterns, and Portuguese style is not at its best this way either. Or, again, you could just take the extra step of manually turning the loops to the left before you work them going forward. Or just don’t wrap clockwise. It causes too much trouble.

HOW TO DO IT WITH LEFT-ANGLED LOOPS —\\\\\—

BACKWARD KNIT: Stick the needle in the left side (the front) of the stitch on the right needle, out the back, maneuver the working yarn to be behind the right needle, wrap the yarn counterclockwise for a right facing loop (requires the use of another finger to hold the yarn down to the right while pulling), then pull through.

BACKWARD PURL: To purl backwards without twisting your worked stitch you need to insert your left needle from the back of the stitch and the right of the back (leg) of the loop, i.e. the leg nearest the needle tip – and wrap the yarn counterclockwise for a left-facing loop, then push the loop out the back.

Summary: The straightforward way to knit Portuguese style backwards and not get twisted stitches or right-turned loops or have to do complicated compensations when knitting forward.

1.    Always knit or purl around the loop leg nearest the tip of the needle holding the loops you are about to work in. Knitting backwards it will be the leg on the other side of the needle, knitting forward it will be the leg on your side – if your loops are angled to the left —\\\\\—.
2.    Always wrap your yarn counterclockwise to get left-angled loops as is normal for forward knitting.
3.    Do a backwards Portuguese knit stitch as follows, from left to right: a. have the yarn over the top of the left needle; b. lift the working yarn with the tip of the right needle; c. insert the left needle into the left side (front) of the stitch on the right needle, but toward and out the back, coming out on the far side of the right needle, not on your side of it; d. use your index finger on your right hand to pull the working yarn down to the right to in effect wrap it counterclockwise around the tip of the left needle; e. pull the loop through to the front.
4.    Do a backwards purl stitch as follows, from left to right: a. with the yarn under the left needle; b. insert your left needle from the back of the stitch and the right side of the loop leg (nearest the needle tip) and out the front toward you; c. flick the yarn counterclockwise around the left needle tip; d. push it out the back again.
5.    All your newly created loops accumulating on the left needle will have the leg nearest you also nearest the needle tip, —\\\\\—, which is normal for forward knitting. When you knit forward you won’t have to do anything special.

So there you have it. The science of loops and twists.

I need a drink. Unfortunately, I don’t drink.