Dropped Stitches (cont.)

When you realise you have dropped a stitch, you have to be able to find it so that you can fix it.

When using a plain classic yarn, it is easier to spot a dropped stitch when working stocking stitch, garter stitch or a simple pattern stitch. However, some yarns are so complex that it is hard to see where the stitch has been dropped. If you can’t see the dropped stitch, hold the knitting over white or against a light source and you should be able to see the hole [pic 3].


3: A white background helps to locate a hole.

Another way is to try looking at the knitting in a mirror. Seeing it in reverse can help you spot where the sequence has gone wrong.

When searching for the missing stitch, don’t stretch the knitting or pull at it, because the released dropped stitch will start a ladder run, compounding the problem and making more to repair.

If you find the missed stitch quite quickly, then you can fix it without too much trouble, but a stitch missing some rows down is usually impossible to correct without unpicking. The threads connecting the stitches above a dropped stitch tighten after a row or two, and leave no room to pick up the dropped stitch and to fit in the extra stitches above it [pic 4,5].

  
4: (left) Threads closed over a dropped stitch.
5: (right) Forcing in stitches where there really is no space will result in a cramped area.

 
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