tip Tuesday :: fix your knitting

One of my least favourite parts of knitting, is making a mistake and having to frog the rotten thing. It’s so frustrating to watch all that hard work just disappear into the ether. Thankfully, not all mistakes need frogging – some can be fixed with a little bit of fiddling! Let’s look at three of the most common problems, and how to fix them.

SAVE A DROPPED STITCH

So easy to lose a stitch as you run across a row (especially if you’re like me and tend to be doing a couple of other things at the same time), but it’s one of the easiest fixes!

When you first notice a dropped stitch, it’s important to secure it before it ladders any further. If you have stitch markers to hand, they would be the perfect solution. Safety pins would also work, or even a piece of scrap yarn threaded through and secured.

Once you’ve secured your stitch, you can continue knitting across until you get to where the stitch should sit on your needles. At this point, you can grab a crochet hook, slip it through the dropped stitch, remove the marker or other securing option, and pull through the loose yarn that should have been the stitch above, to create a new stitch. Continue like this up the ladder until you get to the needles, and place the stitch on the needle, taking care not to twist the stitch.

It can be tricky if you have many rows to climb back up; the higher rows may not have as much give in them. Work slowly, and gently ease out enough yarn from the live stitches to add back in the missing stitch.

TWISTED STITCHES

One of the most common issues that comes up regularly in knitting, is twisted stitches. A knit stitch should sit flat, with the right leg at the front. It is super easy to get yourself in a twist – I once knit an entire cowl with twisted stitches!

See that funny bump on the needle? The stitches to the left of that are sitting correctly, and to the right, I’ve twisted them. In the second photo, you can see the two legs of the stitch, and it has the left in front and right behind. That’s the twist we need to remove. In the video, you will also see how to identify a twisted stitch in the finished fabric – it is a stitch that doesn’t look quite right, and on closer inspection you can see the right leg disappearing under the left.

Knitting through the back loop can cause twisted stitches, but it’s also the easiest way to fix them! If you have a twisted stitch, either through wrapping your yarn the wrong way, or reseating a stitch incorrectly when its been dropped or unknitted, simply knit through the back loop, and it will untwist itself nicely!

CORRECT A PURL TO A KNIT

Mostly commonly occurring in patterns where you switch between knit and purl, this is another really easy fix! Work across to your incorrect stitch in pattern, and when you get to the stitch to change…drop the live stitch off your needle. I know it’s scary! But it will be ok! Drop the stitch, and ladder down to the incorrect stitch, and then simply use your crochet hook to ladder back up.

Need to change a knit to a purl? The theory is the same, however you will want to flip your work over, and loop from the back to create the purl stitch. Work from the front for knit, from the back for purl.

What other simple fixes and oft-overlooked tips do you have that can make knitting easier and help fix little mistakes? Or if you are a newer knitter – what’s a problem you have that you would like help with? Drop a comment and I’ll add it to my list for next Tip Tuesday!