It is fairly easy to fix a mistake that we notice right away. But what do we do when we see a mistake that happened several rows or rounds ago? We use a simple three-step strategy.
This strategy is not as painful as unravelling a big piece of the project. We can fix most mistakes by doing a knitting analogue to the keyhole surgery. This approach is fast, effective, and easy enough even for newer knitters.
Here’s how it works step by step.
WATCH EVERY STEP IN THIS VIDEO TUTORIAL
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STEP 1. LOCALIZE THE MISTAKE
As soon as you notice a mistake, determine what columns of stitches are above the mistake and see what open stitches are at the very top of those columns.
For example, my mistake in seed stitch happened over three stitches a few rows below the current row.
The number of rows is not important, but it is important to understand which open stitches are on top of those mistreated stitches.
To find those open stitches, trace the stitches with the mistake up along the vertical column of stitches and stop at the open stitches that sit on the needle.
Place a marker before the open stitch that is located above the first stitch with a mistake.
If the mistake happened over several stitches, place a marker at each side of the section that should be fixed.
The mistake in my swatch involves three stitches, so I placed a marker before the open stitch that is above the first stitch with a mistake and after the open stitch that is above the last stitch with a mistake.
Depending on where you are in the row or round, either tink back a few stitches or work a few stitches until you get to the first marker that frames the section affected by the mistake.
Because I was at the beginning of a row, I worked all stitches in pattern until I got to my first marker.
Now that we are at the section of the project that we need to fix, we are ready to move to the next step.
STEP 2. LADDER DOWN
We’ll fix the troubled section column by column, starting with the column of stitches that is next to the first marker.
Remove the first marker and slip the first stitch above the mistake off the left needle. Then unravel the column of stitches underneath it until you get to the stitch with the mistake.
Then unravel the stitch with the mistake, and insert the tip of the left needle from front to back into the open stitch that we revealed when we undid the troubled stitch. This is our picked-up stitch.
STEP 3. REBUILD THE STITCHES
Now that the stitch with the mistake is unravelled, it is time to rebuild the column of stitches that we laddered down in the previous step.
We do it by turning each loose strand that is hanging now above the picked-up stitch into a new stitch. And we do it in pattern.
If, according to the pattern, the picked-up stitch is supposed to be knitted in the next row or round, we insert the tip of the left needle from front to back under the loose strand that is the closest to that stitch.
Then we insert the tip of the right needle from right to left into the picked-up stitch.
And pass that stitch over the loose strand and off the left needle.
The resulting stitch on the left needle becomes our next picked-up stitch.
If the pattern tells you that the next stitch should be purled, insert the tip of the left needle from front to back under the loose strand that is the closest to the picked-up stitch.
Then move the strand so that it stays at the left side of the picked-up stitch.
Insert the tip of the right needle from right to left into the picked-up stitch.
Pick up the loose strand at the left side of the stitch and pull this strand through the stitch.
Slip both the original stitch and the strand off the left needle, producing a purl stitch on the right needle.
Insert the tip of the left needle from right to left into that purl, and ease the right needle out, slipping this stitch to the left needle while, at the same time, untwisting it.
Continue to rebuild stitches one by one until you turn all loose strands into a neat column of stitches.
Knit or purl the resulting stitch depending on the stitch pattern.
If the section affected by the mistake is more than one stitch wide, repeat steps 2 and 3 to ladder down and rebuild the next column of stitches.
Continue until you fix mistakes in the whole section. Then remove the second marker and work on your project as if nothing has ever happened.
If you notice that stitches in the section of the project that you’ve just fixed are uneven, use the dry blocking method to neaten them.
HERE’S A VIDEO TUTORIAL THAT SHOWS EVERY STEP
With this approach, you don’t even need to figure out what exactly happened to the stitches a few rows or rounds ago. If a stitch looks funky, we can fix it. And we can do it no matter whether the project is worked back and forth or in the round. The three simple steps we follow are always the same.
Learn to fix ANY dropped stitch in ANY project
Here’s a mini-course that shows how to fix dropped knits and purls easily in the middle or at the edges of stockinette, ribbing, garter, brioche, and lace.
Give it a look!
SAVE IT FOR LATER:
This and 26 other in-depth tutorials are part of Knitting Collection #9.
