Bad Knitter

[jaguargirl]

I keep dropping my stitchs, which messes up my knitting. I have lots of difficulty while knitting. I can't just give up because it's a school thing.
Any tips on how to get the dropped stitchs back or stop dropping them althogether?
Thanks in advance!

[suzeeq]

Look on the Tips page and scroll down to Fixing Mistakes, there's a video on how to bring up a dropped stitch. Watch closely how you make the sts to see why they're being dropped. Maybe you have your needles too far apart or spread them apart when you make the stitch, or that you have the sts on the L needle bunched up too much too close to the tip.

[Jan in CA]

Check the videos here in KH and make sure you're doing the stitches correctly. If you're not completing the stitch it's possible it's going to drop that way.

[salmonmac]

You may also be trying to knit too quickly. That often leads to mistakes and dropped sts. Be careful with each stitch and you'll save time in the end because you won't have to go back and pick up dropped sts.

[suzeeq]

BTW, I wouldn't say you're a "bad" knitter, just an inexperienced one and it can take a little time to get all the elements of knitting working right together.

[Wanda Witch]

It just takes time and lots of practice, mistakes, boo-boos, etc., etc., before you become a more experienced knitter. And, then you might still make a mistake. I don't think there are any 'bad' knitters - we are darned nice knitters. Practice, slowly, practice, and more of the same.

[DogCatMom]

If this is "a school thing," why not...ask the teacher? Isn't it permitted?

DCM

[lenaznap]

When I first started knitting I dropped stitches all the time. The people who were trying to teach me couldn't tell me why I was doing that even when they watched me knit. It was very frustrating.

I finally figured out that most of the time that I dropped stitches it was because I was putting my needle between the stitches instead of through the stitch I wanted to knit into, then knitting a stitch and slipping the stitch off the needle -- which dropped a stitch.

I guess it looks so similar to what I was supposed to do (especially to me as a new knitter who didn't know what correct knitting looked like yet) that it took a while to catch. I also eventually figured out that the reason a scarf I was trying to knit "for practice" started with 25 stitches and ended up when I bothered to count again to have something over 30 stitches was because when I turned the work to start the next row I usually had the yarn hanging on the wrong side of the needle, making an extra stitch to knit into. Ooops.


I agree that watching the video on how to fix mistakes is a good idea.

I actually did a swatch and dropped a stitch on purpose and made sure it went down several rows just to practice fixing that mistake so I wouldn't be afraid to make it on a real project.

A while back I saw a youtube video of a guy knitting two socks at once, one inside another -- not a simple thing. I really want to try this but I haven't done it yet. In this video this guy makes a mistake and he is so calm when he discovers a mistake that would probably make me want to rip out the whole thing and start over and still calm when he explains how to fix it that it made it less scary. I think this is it Double knitting 2 socks tutorial pt 2 of 3

[ArtLady1981]

Here's what I teach new knitters to do:

Place stitch markers across the row, every 10 stitches.

When you get to the end of the row...count between each stitch marker to make sure there are still 10. If not, you'll quickly know which section lost a stitch.

Here is the illustration I recently gave to a new guy knitter:

"Think of yourself as a school bus driver. You are taking 40 kindergarten students on a field trip. The field trip involves stopping at 4 locations for 1 hr each. When the bus is ready to depart for the next location, doesn't any wise bus driver do a head count? To make sure he has all 40 kids?"

Well, knitting is like that, too! Perform your head count at the end of each row before turning the work and heading off to the next location (the other side of the knitting!).

Conversely, when you are working a piece of lace work, where there are K2Tog's and yarnovers...doing the head count assures you that you haven't lost a kid, or picked up an extra kid!

I still use stitch markers on all of my projects, for various reason...and many times to keep track of stitches on long expanses of rows.

A ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

It's always easier to pick up a dropped stitch right away, before turning the work! If you wait a dozen rows to finally come to the realization that you are a stitch short...it's much more difficult to find the "lost kid"!

I am a confirmed believer in fixing mistakes, and finding my lost kids!