Picking Up Stitches

[HamaLee]

Whenever I pick up stitches, I get holes...like the new stitch is pulling the old stitch away from the knit fabric too much. How do you all avoid this?
I wonder if I'm either picking up too close to the edge, or too far in....I also have a hard time deciding where I should pick up stitches.

Like when they say "pick up 80 stitches evenly"....I can never space them out well....

[SandraEllen]

when it says to pick up 80 stitches and you have more or less than 80 to pick up from, I like to divide the area I'm working with into even 4 or more even sections so I know that I have to pick up 20 in the first area, 20 in the second...

I've also found that it looks a bit more even after you knit a few rows after picking up the stitches. Everything kinda works itself out.

I don't know what to tell you about the holes...

[syndactylus]

I do it with the smallest crochet hook that can hold the yarn.
then it doesn't pull on anything.
but it takes longer.