Extra stitches than the pattern calls for

[bekahdrmom]

I started knitting a baby hat that says to cast-on 72 stitches. I did that and continued with the pattern for a few rows before checking my stitches again. Now I'm counting ~78 stitches. What do I do? I'm thinking I can k2tog a few stitches near the stitch marker. I have a heart pattern coming up in about 15 rows, so should I wait until just before I get to about the 14th, or just do something now?

[brendajos]

well my guess would be that when you are starting a new row the yarn is being pulled in a way that it makes it look like you have an extra stitch there. Like when you are garter stitching, if your yarn is up OVER the needle when you start working it, there will be an extra "leg" there that looks like it needs to be knitted. Basically you are doing a yarn over. So you just need to be sure that the yarn is back UNDER the needle when you start.

As far as how to fix it without frogging it...that is really all i do...just K2tog and move on. As long as the yarn isn't too thick i don't think you will really notice it.

[Ingrid]

If you truly have extra stitches, then I would just k2 tog at a place where it won't be too obvious.

[bekahdrmom]

Yeah, it's a soft yarn for babies, so I doubt it'll be too noticeable. Thanks for the tips!