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Eeek!You’vemadea mistakeandlosta stitch!Thankfully,there’snoneed
to worry – all you need are a few tools and a little bit of know-how...dropped stitches
All about...
W
henyou’rea beginner,dropping
a stitchcanseemlikeyour
worstnightmare!Youpanic
becauseyoudon’tknowexactlywhatto
doandthere’sanuglyladdermakingits
waydowntoyourcast-onrow!However,
onceyoulearnhowtowhipthosewayward
stitchesintoplaceyou’llwonderwhy you
evengaveit a moment’sworry.
Thefirstthingtorememberisthatevery
knittermakesmistakesandhasto‘ripback’
or undo their knitting from time to time –it’sallpartoftheprocessofhandcrafting
somethingwithpassion.Butknowingwhat
todotofixyourmistakeswillmakeit much
lessscarywhenyoudofindyou’vegonea
littlebitwrongonyourlatestproject.
Whetheryou’vejuststartedknitting,
oryou’reanoldhand,everynowandthen,
you’reboundtodropa stitchandfind
yourselfwitha sneakyholeinyourfabric.
Neverfear– justfollowoursimpleguideon
thesepagestoputthingsright,and no one
will be any the wiser... promise!DID YOUKNOW?
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Whenyourepaira droppedstitchyou
mightnoticethatthefabriclooksa little
pulledanduntidy.Don’tworry,thiswill
even out when the garment is washed.I’MMISSINGA STITCH–
WHATDOI DONOW?
Firstofall,don’tpanic,it’snotthe
endoftheworldandyou’llbepleased
tohear,it’snotdi culttofixeither.
However,a droppedstitchismuch
easiertorescuewhenit occursa row
ortwodownfromwhereyouare,so
makesureyoupickit upassoonas
younotice it has been dropped.CANI PREVENTIT?
Yesandno.Mostknitters(eventhe
mostexperienced)willcomeacross
a droppedstitchfromtimetotime.
It’sjustoneofthosethings.Onething
thatistrue,themoreyoupracticeyour
knitting,thefewerstitchesyouwill
drop.Thebestthingtodoistolookat
yourknittedfabricfrequently.Check
thatyou’vegottherightnumberof
stitchesonyourneedle,accordingto
yourpattern.If youcountthemevery
coupleofrowsorso,you’llsoon notice
if a stitch has disappeared.MYPATTERNISTRICKY– HOW
CANI FINDMYPLACEAGAIN?
Assoonasyouspotanerror,notehow
manyrowsbackit is.Thatway,after
you’verepairedthemistake,you’llfind
it easiertocontinueknittingfromthe
patternagain.Anothergoodideaisto
includelifelines(asparethreadwoven
throughthestitchesononeparticular
row)tomarkthestartofa pattern
repeat.Then,if youneedtoripyour
workbackyouhavesignposteda row
to get your project back on track.WHATDOESITMEAN
TO DROP A STITCH?
QUICKQ&A
Whathappenswhenyoudropa stitch
isthata singleloopofyarn(orstitch)
hasfalleno yourneedleandstartedto
unthreaditselffromtheloopsbelowit.
If lefttoitsowndevices,it willeventually
unravelallthewaydowntothebottomof
your knitting, so it’ll need dealing with.WhatdoI donext?
Youneedtostopthestitchinitstracks!
Therearea fewthingsyoucandoto
rescueit,oratleasttemporarilystopit
from undoing all your good work. As soonasyouspot
a dropped
stitchthreada
stitchmarkeror
safetypinthrough
it topreventit movinganyfurther.If the
stitchhasunravelledveryfardownyour
work,andyourprojectiscomplicated,
youcouldsewit securelyonthebackof
yourwork,ratherthantryingtothread
it backup– inthatcase,youshould
increasea stitchinyourworking row to
correct your stitch count.Payattentiontothe
stitchesstillonyour
needleswhileyou’re
outa sorting
droppedstitch–you
don’twantmoreto
the slipoff
endswhileyour
attentionis
diverted!TOP TIP
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