Fixing Common Mistakes: Dropped Stitches, Twisted Ribbing, Uneven Tension
You have completed a few rows in your project, feel good about the progress, and suddenly you notice: a loose loop hanging off the fabric where a stitch used to be. Or you hold up your ribbing and something about it just looks off, tighter and lumpier than it should be. Or you run your hand over the piece and feel it go from tight to loose to tight again for no reason. The three mistakes - dropped stitches , twisted ribbing , and uneven tension are faced by nearly every knitter at some point, beginner and experienced. You don't have to rip your work out and start over. Let's look at when each one happens and how to fix it. Dropped Stitches: The One Everyone Panics About A dropped stitch is the mistake that scares beginners most. This happens when a loop slips off your needle and starts to unravel downward, leaving a "ladder" of loose horizontal strands behind it. It looks alarming, but it's one of the easiest mistakes to fix — as long as you catch it before it ru...