Free Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook by Debbie Stoller

one stitch all the way across a row. (I don’t have to remind you always to bring the yarn to the back before you make a knit stitch, and to the front before you purl, do I?)
    On the second row, you are going to knit the purls, and purl the knits. If you are working across an even number of stitches, this means you will start with a knit and end with a purl; if you are working across an unevennumber of stitches, you will start and end with a knit. Basically, every time you see a purl bump (a little noose on your next stitch), you will knit it. And every time you see a knit V hanging off your next stitch (a cute li’l scarf), you will purl that stitch. Do that all the way across the row. And on the next row.
    Seed stitch makes a very interesting fabric. Like garter stitch, it is bumpy; like stockinette, it is flat; and like ribbing, it doesn’t curl in at the edges. It is a very textured stitch that has kind of an earthy, organic look. It is also reversible, so it works well for scarves. And because it’s less stretchy in the vertical direction than a garter stitch, it will take fewer rows to knit the same amount of fabric. Use it for whatever you’d like; it’s fun to make, and now you know how to do it.
Bump and Grind
Making Designs with Knits and Purls
    Since knit stitches make a smooth surface, and purl stitches make a bumpy surface, and since you now know how to do both, you can make fabric that has a raised design made of purl bumps on a smooth knit background. Instructions for making purl and knit patterns are often given on a graph or chart like the one on the right.
    The chart represents how the fabric looks from the front; each box represents a stitch. Empty boxes represent knit Vs, and boxes with little dashes represent purl bumps. So, if you are knitting with the front side of the fabric facing you, you will knit the blank spaces and purl the dashes.

     

     
    Knit your heart out
    But what happens when you turn around and knit back the other way? When you are knitting with the
wrong
side of the fabric facing you, you must do the
opposite
of what I just told you: That is, you must knit the dashes and purl the blanks. Think about it: From this side when you knit the dashes, you’ll be putting the bump part of the stitch on the
front
of the fabric, which is where you want it, and when you purl the blanks, you’ll be putting the flat, or V, part of the stitch on the front of the fabric, which is also what you want.
    Try making the heart design above. Start by casting on 23 stitches, and knit a few rows in stockinette stitch.Then, starting on the knit side, begin the chart. The row at the bottom of the graph is the first row you are going to make, and you will read it from right to left. In fact, when reading a graph like this,
you always read the odd-numbered rows from right to left
. So, according to this graph, you will knit 11 stitches, purl 1 stitch, then knit 11 more stitches.
    For row 2, read the next row up on the graph from left to right. Yup:
You always read the even-numbered rows from left to right
. Remember, too, that this row is being knit with the wrong side of the work facing you, so you will do the opposite of the stitch shown on the chart: You will purl 10 stitches, knit 1, purl 1, knit 1, then purl 10.
    Row 3 is an odd-numbered row, so you will read it from right to left, making knits for the blank boxes and purls for the dashes. It can be difficult to keep your place when you are knitting from a chart, so here are some techniques you can use to keep track of where you are:
    1 Use a row counter on the end of your needles. Usually, people use one row counter at the end of one needle, but there’s no rule saying you can’t use two row counters, one on each needle. When you come to a new row, turn the counter
two numbers
(since you will always be knitting odd-numbered rows from one needle, and even-numbered rows from the other needle).
    2 Make a photocopy of the pattern. Each time you complete