When you knit a stitch you are making a bump that is pushed to the back of your work and away from your body. When you purl it's towards you and the front. Why is this so important? Try knitting every row for 6 - 10 rows and bind off. What's the fabric like? It's super stretchy, bumpy on both sides, and the bumps kind of form ridges, right? Now try purling every row. The fabric is identical! This is due to what I like to call "Bump Theory." It's all about understanding those bumps.

When you knit one row you've pushed all those bumps away from your body, but when you turn your work to begin the next row that just-finished row of bumps is actually facing you, right? Now when you knit this second row you push the bumps away again and you've now got bumps on both side of the fabric. You do that over and over, each row putting bumps on the side opposite to the previous.

How about purl? First row, bumps come towards you, turn the work and your finished row of bumps is now at the back. You make another row of bumps towards you and you've now got bumps on both sides.

You getting it??!! All-knit fabric and all-purl fabric look identical because they are, always placing bumps on the opposite side of the fabric. Either way, knit or purl, you're using garter stitch. (If you're not following me, get out those needles and scrap yarn this is a VITAL understanding for the fearless knitter. You won't regret spending the time.)

Now let's look at knitting one row and purling the next, stockinette stitch. First row we are pushing the bumps away from us, we turn the work to start a new row and the knit bumps are now staring us in the face. Second row the purls come to the front and sit on top of the bumps we knit last row. First row, second, over and over. What's this fabric like? Not so stretchy, but smooth on one side with columns of V's and bumpy on the other with rows of bumps stacked tightly on top of each other. Cool huh?

Now, knit and purl are the most often used stitches in knitting and if you understand Bump theory then the most of those complicated, sometimes magical looking knitting stitches and patterns really aren't as daunting to understand. In fact, with Bump Theory under your belt you should be able to pick up knitted fabric deconstruct it. That is, you'll be able to copy what someone else did without needing a pattern.

I know, it's a lot to take in. Just take notice while your knitting. It took me a whole men's sweater (and my hubby isn't small) to really understand how Bump Theory worked. But when I did I was ready to fly and well on my way to being a fearless knitter. And isn't that the point?