True Blue Fiber Friends

Imagine each stitch is a cowboy sitting on the needle. The tip of the needle is the horse's nose. Our cowboy is using one of his toes to push a cow out of the way, so his legs are not hanging evenly on either side of his horse. Instead, one leg is ahead of the other, or "leading" the other.

Look at your cowboy (stitch) on the needle. Which leg is poking the cow? Is it the leg behind the needle or the leg in front of the needle? That leg is the leading leg. For a normal stitch, always knit (or purl) the leading leg, regardless of whether it is in front of or behind the needle.

When you want to do a good job, you "put your best foot forward." The leading leg is "forward" so it's the best leg to knit. For a twisted stitch, always knit (or purl) the trailing leg. Twist and trailing both start with "T." That's how you can remember which is which.