Knitting on the loom is fun and easy. There are many looms on the market today. Most of them come with a set of instructions and patterns. Loom knitters are slowly starting to add patterns to the internet. Two years ago, when I searched on the internet for “loom patterns” I did not come up with many. Now I can find a pattern for almost anything that I want. But there is still not a standard for writing patterns. One problem that comes that this issue is the stitches. There are a few different stitches a loom knitter needs to know to be able to make the pretty projects that you can find on the internet. Here’s a detailed guide to three basic stitches to use on the loom.
Knitting on the loom depends on the creation of a stitch. One of the most basic ways to do that is called the knit stitch. Take a loom, wrap or tie an anchor cord and then wrap ten pegs in an e-wrap fashion. The e-wrap is completed by holding your working yarn on right side of the inside of a peg and wrapping it around the outside of the peg and across the inside to the right side of the next peg. Wrap the pegs loosely and evenly but not so loose that the yarn bunches up on the peg.
Once you’ve wrapped ten pegs, stop. Re-wrap the pegs, starting with peg ten. Now you have ten pegs, each wrapped twice. With the inside of your loom facing you use your hook to lift the bottom loop on peg one over the top loop and off the peg. It should create a secure loop on the inside of the peg, but not too tight. You can tug on the yarn on either side of the stitch to make it smooth. Now, using your hook, lift the bottom loop off each peg in a similar manner. This is the knit stitch, sometimes called the twisted knit stitch. It’s the stitch many loom knitters are most familiar with. Make a swatch of ten rows of knit stitches. Knit all the stitches off the loom.
There is also the flat knit stitch, which is tauter and flatter than the knit stitch. The difference comes from the way you lay your yarn on the pegs. Wrap ten pegs on a loom again. Instead of wrapping them again, lay your working yarn across peg ten over the e-wrap you just did. Lift the lower loop ( the e-wrap loop) over the working yarn off the peg and settle securely but not too tightly. Repeat across. Make another ten row swatch of flat stitches. Knit off all stitches.
Finally, try the purl stitch. E-wrap ten pegs again. Now lay your working yarn across the peg below the e-wrap loop on peg ten. With your hook reach through the e-wrap on the back of the peg and pull up the working yarn in a loop. The loop will hang off the e-wrap loop. Lift the e-wrap loop off the peg and place the working yarn loop on the peg. The e-wrap loop will hang on the inside of the peg as a purl stitch. Make a third swatch of purl stitches.
Now you’ve completed three of the most popular stitches in loom knitting. They should give you a basis for learning loom knitting. You should be able to complete many patterns with these stitches alone. Good luck.
