Flower and Fan Gone Wrong Help

NYCKnitKat · 10-28-2006, 09:57 PM

I was doing so well, and then...........well, I don't know. It doesn't look right........I'm one stitch short and I'm terrified to rip out. I think I went wrong about 5 rows ago. What do you do when you look back and see a big boo boo..............besides cry. :crying:

The post it represents.......the bad stuff.

Ingrid · 10-29-2006, 03:01 AM

Since you're nervous about ripping it out and getting it back on the needles, you could unknit one stitch at a time until you feel you're back on track.

Then it would be wise to insert a life line so that if you need to rip back again, there is a place where the stitches can't unravel from. Just thread a piece of yarn through all the stitches while on the needle when you know you've got everything right. You can do it at the end of every repeat, or really pretty much anywhere you feel you need it. You can pull one life line out after the next one is in.

NYCKnitKat · 10-29-2006, 04:20 AM

How do I unknit? I love the lifeline idea. But let's say I want to go back five rows.........what do I do to unknit? Thank you so much.

suzeeq · 10-29-2006, 04:28 AM

Go backwards taking each stitch off the needle one by one. Stick your left needle into the first stitch on the right, and slip that stich off.

sue

HamburgKnitter · 10-29-2006, 11:13 AM

I'm very new at knitting too, but I got pretty good at unknitting fast.

I found unknitting the knit stitches easy and unknitting the purl stitches kind of tricky at first. Just follow where the not-yet-knit yarn comes out of the last stitch - that is where you want to put your left needle through to pick up the stitch).

NYCKnitKat · 10-29-2006, 01:06 PM

I have yarn overs and k2tog in my pattern as well as purls.......this might just require a trip to the knitting store. I'm afraid if I rip, I may wind up with nothing.............again. Been down that road before!

Ingrid · 10-29-2006, 02:29 PM

If you're willing to take the risk, you can take it off the needles, rip out until you're right before a purl row. Then slowly pop out one stitch at a time, inserting your left needle into the stitch that pops out. This would be purl, so you wouldn't have to worry about the yo's and such. Once you get all the stitches on your needle you can switch them if they're twisted and get back on track.

Or you can bring it to someone who can help.

NYCKnitKat · 10-29-2006, 02:57 PM

Thank you.......but I'm too afraid. Have to hit the yarn store after work tomorrow. Sigh.

Calamintha · 10-29-2006, 04:53 PM

When you are doing lace, counting is your friend. Be sure you count the stiches on every pattern row before going on to the next row. That will ensure that it will be very unlikely that you will have to rip anything out in the future.

I've been knitting lace for about 10 years and here's a trick everyone should know: if you discover that you left out a YO, you do not have to tink back and fix it. You can fix it on the following row by lifting the bar of yarn between the stitches where it should be. Also, if you put in a YO where it didn't belong, you can just drop it off the needles on the following row. It will even out when you block it.