How-to: Pick Up a Dropped Stitch

How-to: Pick Up a Dropped Stitch

Dropped a stitch and spotted it a few rows down? Don’t worry — this quick fix lets you rescue it neatly without ripping back your knitting.
Top TipIf you can’t place the rescued stitch back on the left needle immediately (eg you are knitting in rounds or part way through a row when you notice it), secure with a stitch marker until you come back to that point.
What You’ll Need: • A crochet hook (makes this much easier - especially if the stitch has dropped several rows) or a knitting needle • Your knitting
Steps:
  1. Stop knitting as soon as you spot the dropped stitch so it doesn’t unravel any further.
  2. Find the dropped loop — it will be sitting below your needles, with loose horizontal strands (the “ladder”) above it.
  3. Catch the dropped loop from the front using a crochet hook or knitting needle.
  4. Work back up, one rung at a time: – Insert the hook through the dropped loop – Hook the lowest loose strand above it – Pull that strand through the loop to form a new stitch
  5. Repeat until you’ve worked your way back up to the current row.
  6. Place the rescued stitch back onto your needle, making sure it isn’t twisted.
  7. Carry on knitting, like nothing ever happened.
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