FAQ...Mysterious extra stitches? Look Here!

[suzeeq]

Look in the Decreases Videos for how to k2tog (knit 2 stitches together). See if that helps.

[motherpink]

Oh that is so funny and yet confussing to you.

What you doing is you think you've knitted or purled that stitch and yet you haven't knitted it properly. So thats expands the stitches when you work the rows.

[knittingfinatic11]

All that you have to do is take your time and you should get it right. Eventually!

[whooz]

I am very new in knitting. Glad to found this topic because i have the same problem too.

[ChubbyKitten]

I've only started knitting a few days ago and I was finding that I'd start off with 21 stitches and I'd end up with 27 or so. I'd switch the needle to my left hand and the first stitch would have this big loop, even when I pulled the yarn. Silly me tried to wrap the yarn around the left needle once to tighten the loop and that's how I ended up with extra stitches. After I stopped wrapping the yarn and started slipping the first stitch instead, it was no longer a problem.

Now my problem is that I'm easily distracted and it seems something always wants my attention whether it's my cat or my parents, so sometimes I'll slip up in the middle of a row and can't figure out what I did wrong and when I count both sides, there's an extra stitch on one of them. I was wondering if there was a way to stitch backwards or reverse until you get to the mistake, but it's looking like I'd just knit or purl 2 together?

sorry if that doesn't make any sense. I confuse myself sometimes

[Yowie]

If you know where the mistake is, one technique you can use is to purposefully drop a stitch above it, let it 'ladder' down to the mistake, and then pick up the stitches that are supposed to be there with a crochet hook. The other way is to undo your work - either by undoing one stitch at a time (which is good if the mistake was in the same row) or taking the needles out and just pulling the wool out quickly (i call this 'shredding') until you get to the mistake and then picking up the stiches again (if its a long way down, this is rather depressing)

The best advice I can give a beginner is to learn how to 'read' you work. Make common mistakes on purpose and then see how they look in your work. Some of those common "mistakes" end up being advanced stitch techniques.

And lastly: patience. We all had to start from somewhere, and i think we all went through the 'growing work' stage. And please be reassured, I've been knitting for nearly 35 years, and I *still* pick up the odd stray stitch from time to time - it just takes a moment of inattention and there it is. Its fairly easy to fix if you are doing garter or stocking stitch in plain 8-ply, not so easy when its an intricate lace pattern with the sort of yarn that is so fuzzy that its designed to felt to itself :-)

Just keep practicing, it will come.

[KnitandPurl]

This thread is so great! Its the reason I joined this forum.

I've been doing incomplete stitches, yarn splits, dropped stitches, you name it.

Now I'm going to slow down and pay more attention to the stitches as I knit them.

I just get a bit frustrated at times that I can't fix things easily so I usually frog the whole thing and start over.

[bklyngal535]

I'm just learning too and was constantly dropping or adding a stitch. A friend gave me dividers. So, for example, my current pattern has 10 stitches for each new repeat section. Now if I don't have 10 stitches when the next divider comes up, I've can tell which section my problem is without going crazy trying to analyze the whole line.

[suzeeq]

Yep, markers can help keep your pattern (and your mind) straight.

[trvvn5]

Another thing that might be happening: if you're switching from Knit to Purl within a row make sure you always have the yarn in the back to knit and in the front to purl. Don't forget to put that yarn back where it goes each time...if you don't, you will add stitches...eeek!

And the most important thing of all...THIS HAPPENS TO EVERYONE in the beginning! I increased stitches for weeks before I knew people actually did it on purpose, LOL!

I find it funny, but this was my BIGGEST issue as a new knitter. I didn't realize that when you didn't move the yarn to the right side that you were in essence doing an accidental yo. It took me forever, and a lot of frustration before I figured out why it wasn't working. And over and over again there would be that extra stitch. And every time I'd say the same thing, "Where the hell did you come from?"