How to Pick Up a Dropped Stitch While Knitting

When knitting, it is common to drop a stitch, which is simply a stitch that fell off the needles without being knitted into the rest of the item. Unfortunately, dropped stitches cause runs in your knitting and can even pull it apart. Thankfully, they are easy to fix. You will usually find the dropped stitch when you're at least a couple rows above the dropped stitch and have knit past the point where the stitch should be.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Tink or Knit Backwards

1. Check your knitting closely to determine how far back you need to tink, or un-knit.

2. Insert the left-hand needle into the loop below the stitch you just knit (which is the same loop that just came off the left-hand needle).

3. Slide the corresponding stitch off the right-hand needle, keeping the lower loop on your left-hand needle.

4. Pull the active yarn out of the removed stitch. This finalizes the undoing of the stitch.

5. Repeat Steps 1 to 4 as needed to reach the point directly above the dropped stitch.

Move the Stitch Up the Rows

6. Put a crochet hook through the loop of the dropped stitch.

7. Hook the yarn just above the dropped stitch, and pull it through the loop with the crochet hook.

8. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 until you reach the top of your knitting.

9. Transfer the final loop from the crochet hook to the left-hand needle so you can begin knitting as usual again.

[thinkpink]

on 9/4/2008 it should be a video instead