[tutorial] Purl through Back Loop (ptbl)

Purl through Back Loop (ptbl) is an easy stitch to add to your knitting. Many patterns use it – lace, ribbing, socks and many others. Read on to learn how to do this simple stitch.

Step 1

We’re going to assume you have a column of purl stitches that you’ve already worked (either regular of ptbl will work).

The stitch on your LN is a purl.

Take your RN and insert it differently than you would for a regular purl stitch (we show you how).

Put your working yarn to the front and your RN to the back.

Step 2

And then enter the stitch on the LN from the left to the right, like this.

Step 3

Now that the stitch is twisted, purl it. Just wrap the working yarn around the RN and pull it through.

You’re done!

After a few rows

Here’s how the column of ptbl stitches look after they’ve been worked for a few rows. See how much tighter it looks versus a standard purl?

Uses

You may see the ptbl in lace patterns. Here’s how it’s often depicted in a chart:

It can also be used when working ribbing in the round to make it a bit tighter. I often do it when working a sock. If it’s just one column you can do it every round. If it’s a lot more than 1 or 2 columns, I suggest doing it every other round to help avoid the natural bias that twisted stitches cause.

You can use it almost everywhere that a standard purl is used if you want to tighten things a bit. The nice thing is that the stitch remains mounted in the proper way so you can work the next row however you want – either with another ptbl or just a regular purl.