Knitting: Slip-ups

Common Mistakes of Knitting

By: Ha Tien Nguyen

Book: Knitting for Dummies by by Pam Allen, Shannon Okey, and Tracy Barr 

When knitting, there tend to always be mistakes- the slip-ups. Some mistakes are minor, such as a dropped or added stitch that you can easily fix. Others might ruin the entire project, if you are so lucky. In this post, I'll go through the common mistakes I've often made and methods for which you can correct these mistakes.

Dropped Stitches:

Dropped stitches are very common for both beginners and experienced knitters. According Knitting for Dummies, they are "stitches that, for one reason or another, fall off the needle and don't get worked" (Allen, Okey, Barr, Bird 108). Errors like these are small but can often lead confusion and damage to the project later on. Catching a mistake like this early on is the first step to fixing it and preventing future mishaps. Knitting for Dummies warns that "you need to fix the error because dropped stitches don't look good, and they unravel when the piece is pulled or stretched, leaving an unsightly ladder of yarn up your work" (Allen, Okey, Barr, Bird 108). Think of a dropped stitch as a run in pantyhose.

 How to fix a dropped stitch (knit):

1. "Insert your right needle into the front of the dropped stitch.
2. With the right needle, go under the lowest unworked strand front the front. Both the strand and the stitch are on the right needle.

3. Insert the left needle into the stitch from the back and pull it over the strand.

4. Put the new stitch on the left needle in the ready-to-knit position and knit as normal" ( Allen, Okey, Barr, Bird 110).

How to fix a dropped stitch (purl):

1. "Insert the right needle into the dropped stitch and the yarn strand from the back.

2. Using the left needle, pull the stitch over the strand and off the needle, forming a new stitch on the right needle.

3. Place the new stitch on the left needle in the ready-to-work position and purl as normal" (Allen, Okey, Barr, Bird 112).

 Ripping (Your Heart) Out:

Perhaps you've noticed a mistake several rows down in your work that you can't easily rescue by backing up a few stitches. In such a situation, ripping out might be the only solution. Although it's painful, no fun, and you'll mourn the time you've lost, sometimes ripping everything out is necessary. 

How to rip out without having to start over (stitch by stitch):

1. "With the knit or purl side facing, insert the left needle from front to back (away from you) into the stitch below the one on the right needle.

2. Slide the right needle out of the stitch and gently pull on the yarn to free it.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2, stitch by stitch, to the point of your mistake" ( Allen, Okey, Barr, Bird 117). 

How to rip out without having to start over (row by row):

1. "Locate the row your mistake is on and mark it with a safety pin. 

2. Slide your needle out of the stitches.

3. Pull gently on the working yarn, undoing the stitches; when you reach the row above the mistake (which you've marked with a safety pin), slowly rip to the end of the row.

4. Place your knitting so that the working yarn is on the right (flip the fabric over if you have to).

5. Insert the tip of the needle into the first stitch on the row below (from back to front, toward you), and gently pull to free the yarn from the stitch. 

6. Repeat step 5 until you reach your mistake. 

7. Rip out your mistake, turn your work, and start knitting again"  ( Allen, Okey, Barr, Bird 118).

As a beginning knitter, you may not notice the mistakes in your project, and that's understandable. After all, you're trying to figure out what to do with your hands, the needles, and the yarn. However, take heart. All knitters at all skill levels make mistakes. Because you can't avoid mistakes entirely, your goal should be to make as few mistakes as possible and, when you slip up, catch them early.  

I've made a lot of mistakes on my scarf and nothing hurts more than having to rip out an hour's worth of work. However, all the work is worth the trouble at the end of the day when I look at my scarf and feel a sense of satisfaction, knowing that it's perfect. Are you a perfectionist? If so, does it feel like ripping your heart out every time you make a mistake?

Works Cited

Allen, Pam. Knitting for Dummies. John Wiley, 2014.