PERSIAN STYLE KNITTING
The sample on the left is American knitting, and the sample on the right is knitted in what I call Persian knitting. While the American style is tighter and more even, the Persian is faster, easier, and makes knitting with color simpler.
In the Persian Style:
1. Hold the yarn with your left hand.
2. Instead of wrapping the yarn around the needle, you just put it so that it's easy to simply pick the yarn with the needle (without the wrapping around).
3. In the American way when purling the yarn wraps around the needle from up to down. In the Persian style the yarn comes from down to up.
4. That difference in the purl stitch causes the knit stitch in the next row to be angled this way ///// which is the opposite direction from the purl stitch. So in the knit stitch you insert the needle into the back of the stitch.
Hand and Finger positions
If you would like to try it I recommend practicing the left hand position for few times before starting. The finger holds the yarn and controls it by slight movements. The middle finger secures the next stitch in line, and permits the work to be done freely on the current stitch, without fear of loosing it.
Purl Stitch
(To make your first try easier I recommend casting on about 10 sts, and knitting in stockinette stitch for few rows)
1. Insert needle into the stitch
2. Position yarn (by moving your finger slightly) to between the two needles.
3. Create the new stitch by pulling the yarn out with the needle.
4. Release the old stitch and move to the next.
Finish the row, and then
Knit Stitch
1. Insert needle into the back of the stitch. If the stitch is not angled like this / then you did something wrong on the previous row.
2. Place yarn between needles (this time in the back, as you would usually do in a knit stitch)
3. Create the new stitch by pulling the yarn out with the needle.
4. Release the old stitch, and move to the next.
* I usually do not knit/purl the first stitch, but just slip it to the right needle unknitted. I find it creates an easier edge to work with.
Purl -
into the stitch
and place yarn between the needles
Purl -
pull the new stitch out
Knit -into the stitch then place yarn between the needles
Knit - pull the new stitch out
