FREE GUIDE TO Fixing Knitting Mistakes for all Knitters FREE GUIDE TO Fixing Knitting Mistakes for all Knitters I’VE OFTEN SEEN KNITTERS WHO MAKE A MISTAKE IN THEIR KNITTING and don’t know how to fix it. They inevitably end up putting their project aside and either starting another one, or taking a break from knitting altogether, until they can learn how to fix their mistakes. I want you to be able to keep on knitting, so I decided to put together an eBook with some common fixes that every knitter should know how to do. I hope you find this helpful! Cheers, Kathleen Cubley Editor, KnittingDaily.com Contents FREE GUIDE TO FIXING KNITTING MISTAKES Tools to Help you Fix Knitting Mistakes. .PAGE 3 FOR ALL KNITTERS Fixing Basic Mistakes .....................................PAGE 4 A Knitting Daily eBook edited by Laddering Down to Fix a Stitch PAGE 4 Kathleen Cubley Unknitting PAGE 6 EDITORIAL STAFF EDITOR, KNITTING DAILY Kathleen Cubley Ripping Out Rows PAGE 8 CREATIVE SERVICES Picking up a Dropped Edge Stitch PAGE 9 PRODUCTION DESIGNER Janice Tapia Fixing a Split Stitch PAGE 9 PHOTOGRAPHY As noted Preventing and Fixing Twisted Stitches PAGE 10 ILLUSTRATION Gayle Ford Fixing an Added Yarn Over PAGE 11 Projects and information are for inspiration and personal use only. Interweave Knits and Accidentally Working the First Stitch as Two Stitches PAGE 11 Knitting Daily do not recommend, approve, or endorse any of the advertisers, products, Fixing Mistakes in Circular Knitting ......................PAGE 12 services, or views advertised in this publication. Knits Knitting Daily Fixing a Twist After the Fact PAGE 12 Nor does or evaluate the advertisers’ claims in any way. You should, Preventing Ladders when Using DPNs PAGE 12 therefore, use your own judgment in evalu ating the advertisers, products, services, and views Fixing Mistakes in Colorwork ............................PAGE 13 advertised in Knits or Knitting Daily. Preventing Tangles in Yarn PAGE 13 Preventing Puckers in Stranded Knitting PAGE 13 Preventing Jogs in Striped Knitting PAGE 14 Fixing Mistakes with Duplicate Stitch PAGE 14 Fixing Other Mistakes ...................................PAGE 15 Placing a Lifeline PAGE 15 Fixing a Mis-Crossed Cable PAGE 15 Swiss Darning PAGE 16 ©F+W Media, Inc. | All rights reserved | F+W Media grants permission for any or all pages in this issue to be copied for personal use | www.knittingdaily.com 2 Free Guide To Fixing Knitting Mistakes for all Knitters Tools to Help You Fix Knitting Mistakes ou’ll need to have a few tools and notions on hand to fix your Ymistakes. These are things you probably have in your knitting bag already, but review the list just to make sure. • Crochet hooks. Get hooks in various sizes, at least E, F, G, and H. You’ll use crochet hooks to pick up dropped stitches, ladder down to fix a problem stitch, and put stitches back on the needle if they fall off. • Stitch markers. Have interlocking stitch markers handy. You can use them to hold dropped stitches, hold two or three stitches of a mis-crossed cable, and so forth. • Tapestry needles. You’ll use this to thread stitches onto waste yarn, string lifelines, tug misshapen stitches into shape, and more. • Waste yarn. I like mercerized cotton because it’s smooth, which makes it easy to put stitches on and take them off. • Small Double Pointed Needles. You’ll use these to hold stitches and knit up from mistakes that you ladder down to. ©F+W Media, Inc. | All rights reserved | F+W Media grants permission for any or all pages in this issue to be copied for personal use | www.knittingdaily.com 3 Free Guide To Fixing Knitting Mistakes for all Knitters Fixing Basic Mistakes LADDERING DOWN TO FIX A STITCH Vertical Fixes for between tip of the crochet hook and Stitch Mistakes the hanging stitch (Figure 6). While unknitting corrects mistakes horizontally, sometimes it’s more effi- cient to drop down vertically through multiple rows to fix a single dropped or twisted stitch, or even to change a knit stitch into a purl and vice versa. Figure 6: Ladder and stitch on hook Dropped Stitch Pull the ladder through the stitch, To begin, trace along the column 4back to front, and drop the rescued 1from the dropped stitch up to your stitch off the end of the hook. Continue needle (Figure 5). Knit or unknit to the this maneuver until you’ve scooped stitch to the right of this stitch. every ladder through the loop below it, then transfer the stitch to the left needle (Figure 7). Figure 5: Ladder and hanging stitch To rescue a knit stitch, push the Figure 7: One knit stitch picked up 2crochet hook through the front of the hanging stitch. You’ve saved one knit stitch. When Then pick up the first ladder, you pick up a stitch and pull the ladder 3the one farthest down from the through with the crochet hook, you knitting needle. Position the ladder mimic vertically what your knitting ©F+W Media, Inc. | All rights reserved | F+W Media grants permission for any or all pages in this issue to be copied for personal use | www.knittingdaily.com 4 needles do horizontally when wrap- that, although working garter stitch ping a stitch. back and forth means knitting each To rescue a purl stitch, insert the stitch on each row, what you actually crochet hook from the back of the produce is alternating rows of knit work to the front to pick up the stitch stitches (the valleys) and rows of purl (Figure 8) and pull the ladder through stitches (the hills), since the reverse of to the back (Figure 9). every knit stitch is a purl stitch. Figure 8: Pick up purl stitch Free Guide To Fixing Knitting Mistakes for all Knitters LADDERING DOWN TO FIX A STITCH Figure 9: One purl stitch picked up needles do horizontally when wrap- that,Sometimes although workingit’s easier garterto fix astitch purl ping a stitch. byback turning and forth the work means to knittingthe knit eachside, To rescue a purl stitch, insert the allowingstitch on eachyou torow, pick what it up you from actually the crochet hook from the back of the frontproduce as a knitis alternating stitch. rows of knit work to the front to pick up the stitch stitchesTo save (the avalleys) dropped and stitchrows ofwhen purl (Figure 8) and pull the ladder through you’restitches working (the hills), in garter since stitch, the reverse alternate of to the back (Figure 9). betweenevery knit rescuing stitch is knita purl stitch stitch. and a purl stitch from a row to row as you hook ladders up to the needle. Remember needles do horizontally when wrap- that, although working garter stitch ping a stitch. back and forth means knitting each To rescue a purl stitch, insert the stitch on each row, what you actually crochet hook from the back of the produce is alternating rows of knit workFigure 8:to Pick the up front purl stitch to pick up the stitch stitches (the valleys) and rows of purl (Figure 8) and pull the ladder through stitches (the hills), since the reverse of to the back (Figure 9). every knit stitch is a purl stitch. Figure 8: Pick up purl stitch Figure 9: One purl stitch picked up Sometimes it’s easier to fix a purl by turning the work to the knit side, allowing you to pick it up from the front as a knit stitch. To save a dropped stitch when you’re working in garter stitch, alternate between rescuing knitDiscover stitch and knitwear a purl designs that will capture your imagination. Figurestitch 9: from One purl a row stitch to pickedYou row don’tup as you have hook to be a designer or a knitting pro to make beautiful knitted ladders up to the needle.garments Remember and accessories, and you don’t have to hunt all over for inspiring designs. Sometimes it’s easierFrom coverto fix to a cover,purl Interweave Knits magazine gives you great projects, from by turning the workthe to beginner the knit to side, the advanced. Every issue is packed full of captivating smart allowing you to pickdesigns, it up step-by-step from the instructions, easy-to-understand illustrations, plus front as a knit stitch.well-written, lively articles sure to inspire. To save a droppedinterweaveknits.com stitch when you’re working in garter stitch, alternate between rescuing knit stitch and a purl stitch from a row to row as you hook ©F+W Media, Inc. | All rights reservedladders | F+W up Media to grantsthe permissionneedle. for Remember any or all pages in this issue to be copied for personal use | www.knittingdaily.com 5 Free Guide To Fixing Knitting Mistakes for all Knitters UNKNITTING Unknitting working yarn comes off the back of knit stitches and off the front for purls. Unknitting—sometimes called “tinking” (“tink” is “knit” spelled back- The trick to unknitting is to place ward)—is like seeing a reverse, slow- 1the left needle tip into the stitch motion film of knitting errors as they lying right underneath the live stitch happen. We all tend to repeat the same next to the tip of your right needle. mistakes on any project. Unknitting To do this, pull on the working yarn; takes us back to the mistake. Undoing the opening created in your stitches the mistake shows what went wrong, points to exactly where to place your giving us the chance to learn. left needle. Here’s How to Unknit Place your left needle in the open- Unknitting moves stitches in 2ing from front to back (Figures 1 reverse, undoing each new stitch from and 2).