Knitting 911 KNITTING EMERGENCIES DO HAPPEN Know How to Correct Your Knitting Mistakes!

by Binka Schwan

Figure I Figure 2

Figure 4 Figure 3

66 Cast On • February - April 2011 TENSION CONCERNS: PART 3 The loop of yarn that occurs with each "tug" a bit harder to identify. Once this pathway may be getting larger as you go from stitch is identified, apply the same technique of to stitch. You may be able to adjust this loop manipulating stitches across a row. You can How to Fix Uneven Fabric across the row so that as you even out each also use this technique with other stitch Knitting an even fabric is always our goal as stitch, you pull less and less yarn. That is, try patterns. As you work, you will be gaining an we knit each stitch across a row. But what do to ease this extra yarn into the remaining understanding of the structure of knitting. you do if you notice loose or uneven stitches stitches in the row. The resultant loop will inches below the section you are working? then be "worked into" the row of stitches. Conclusion You can always "unknit" to that point, taking The stitches may not match the tension of Even the most advanced knitter may find the stitches out row by row so they can be the surrounding stitches exactly, but the tension issues in their knitting, and this result is better than a section of overly large reworked. Or, you can try to fix those errant procedure can help correct the problem. stitches by manipulating them to match stitches in a row. the size of the surrounding correct tension Learn how to "unknit" in our next Knitting If the irregular stitches are extremely loose, stitches. This can be done with a tapestry 911 article! needle, cable needle, or even a small sized or there are too many of them across the row, the yarn loop from evening out the double point needle to manipulate each References stitch across the row. stitches will be large and can be left at the Maggie Righetti, St. edge to work into the finished seam just as Knitting in Plain English, Martin's Press, New York, NY, 2007. Correcting Tension in Stockinette Stitch you would a yarn tail. If you are working in Reader's Digest Knitter's Ha ndbook, Montse In order to fix errant stitches you need to the round, the extra yarn can be woven in Stanley, Reader's Digest, Pleasantville, NY know how they were constructed and what the fabric in the same manner as you would 1993. the correct path of each stitch should be join a new piece of yarn. across the row. For example, the knit side Vogue Knitting, Editors of Vogue Magazine, of Stockinette is composed of interlocking Garter Stitch and Other Stitches Sixth and Spring Books, New York, NY, ' "V"s across a row of knitting. Each V has a Even out stitches in Garter stitch fabric in 2002. . right and left side (leg). The pathway of these basically the same way across a row as in Holladay, Arenda, On Your Way to the interlocking stitches can be followed across Stockinette. However, because each row of Masters - Tension Problems. Cast On, Fall, each row. To begin your correction, always Garter stitch is knit, the path of the stitch is 2002. work with the public side of the fabric facing you. This way the result of your "fix" is im ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• mediately apparent. If the public side of your fabric happens to be Reverse Stockinette, you can use the same technique on the purl side as long as you understand the path of the stitches across the row.

In Figure 1 you can sec areas of enlarged or loose knit stitches and the stitch tension is uneven across the row. These loose stitches need to be evened out to match the tension of the surrounding stitches.

In Figure 2, the knitting is placed on a hard surface such as a table so that the knitted fabric is flat and you are able to work from left to right across the row. While holding the knitting flat, take the tapestry needle (or tool of choice) and gently pull the right leg of the first loose stitch that is next to the even tension stitch to the left. This tugging of the right leg yarn will result in the left leg of the stitch you are manipulating to become smaller and match the tension of the neighboring stitch. The right leg of the stitch is now a loose loop of yarn. Feel the quality you've come to expect. .. In Figu re 3, the left leg of the next stitch is only from The Alpaca Yarn Company pulled and the stitch is now the size of the See our web site for a list of retailers previous stitches. Figure 4 shows how to continue across the row, gently pulling first www.thealpacayarnco.com the left leg then the right leg of the irregular stitches to even out each stitch.