Ripping Out Yarn in Knit
Rip Stitches Out to Reach and Correct Knitting Mistakes
Knitting mistakes are inevitable. It's important to rip out mistakes without losing the live stitches.
Mistakes happen. Fortunately, no matter what goes wrong in knitting, there’s a solution. Essentially, there are two ways to “reach” an error and subsequently fix it. The knitter can unravel stitch by stitch until the mistake is reached, or she can unravel multiple rows and pick up the stitches at the point of error.
Unravel Stitch by Stitch
Unraveling stitch by stitch is a very safe way to take stitches out. It takes a long time, but new knitters may prefer the safety net this method provides.
On a Knit Row: Keep the yarn to the back. With the stitches on the right needle and the left needle empty, take the left needle from left to right through the back of the first stitch one row below the stitches on the right needle. Draw back the right needle and drop a stitch off the right needle while keeping the stitch below on the left needle. Pull the yarn at the back.
Take the left needle from left to right through the back of the next stitch one row below the stitches on the right needle. Transfer the stitch to the left needle and drop the stitch above from the right needle in the same way as before.
Continue in the same manner for the required number of stitches.
On a Purl Row: Keep the yarn to the front. With the stitches on the right needle and the left needle empty, take the left needle from right to left through the front of the first stitch one row below the stitches on the right needle. Draw back the right needle and drop a stitch off the right needle while keeping the stitch below on the left needle. Pull the yarn at the front.
Take the left needle fro right to left through the front of the next stitch one row below the stitches on the right needle. Transfer the stitch to the left needle and drop the stitch above from the right needle in the same way as before.
Continue in the same manner for the required number of stitches.
Unravel Multiple Rows and Pick up Stitches
Take all the stitches off the needle. Pull the yarn until the top row of stitches is one row below the mistake, making sure the working yarn is on the left hand side. Beginning on the right hand side, take a needle from right to left and back to front through the first stitch on the right. Continue picking up all the stitches in the same manner.
If that feels a bit too risky, try this alternative. Leave the live stitches on one needle. Work one row below the mistake, and begin on the right hand side. Work a second needle from right to left behind the (vertical) right half of the first stitch. Work the second needle behind the (vertical) right half of the second stitch in the same way. Continue in this manner until the second needle has passed through all the stitches in the row. Remove the needle at the top of the work (the first needle.) Pull the yarn to unravel all the stitches above the second needle.
Move On to Correct the Error
Once a knitter has reached a mistake by ripping out stitches, the error can be fixed. Identify what kind of mistake has been made, and then correct it.
Related Aritcle: Added Stitches in Knit
