Dropped Stitch
A dropped stitch is a stitch that has fallen off the needle unintentionally and begun to unravel down the fabric, and should be fixed with a crochet hook.
Explanation
A dropped stitch occurs when a stitch falls off the needle without being knitted, and is often pulled downward by the yarn's own tension, forming a ladder of loose strands running down through the fabric. The longer you knit before noticing the mistake, the further the stitch runs, and the harder it becomes to fix. The usual solution is to use a crochet hook to catch the stitch and hook it back up, strand by strand, to the correct height on the needle, often using the pattern's stitch pattern as a guide.
Also known as: Dropped st, Runner
How to catch it
A dropped stitch runs downward and leaves a ladder of loose strands. Stop as soon as you notice — put a safety pin through the stitch before doing anything else, and it can run no further.
Then use a crochet hook: insert it into the stitch, catch the lowest rung of the ladder, and pull it through. Repeat up the ladder until you are back at the needle.
Knit and purl
In stockinette every rung is caught from the same side. In garter and seed stitch you have to flip the hook each row, since the stitches alternate between knit and purl.
If the stitch has run a long way down through a pattern, ripping back to the error is often faster than repairing it.
Catching a dropped stitch before it runs
A dropped stitch is not an emergency, but it is a race: each row you knit above it lets the loop unravel one row further down, turning a one-second fix into a visible ladder.
If it has only dropped a row or two, put it back on the needle with the right leg forward and carry on. If it has run further, use a crochet hook: insert the hook through the loop from the front, catch the lowest horizontal strand of the ladder, and pull it through, working upwards one rung at a time. In stockinette this is completely invisible when done. In garter or ribbing you have to alternate which side you hook from, matching the fabric — work slowly and check against the stitches either side.
Common mistakes
- Knitting on and hoping — the stitch runs further with every row.
- Catching the rungs in the wrong order, which twists the stitch.
Keywords
- dropped stitch
- fixing mistakes
- ladder
Frequently asked questions
How do I fix a dropped stitch?
Secure it with a safety pin, then draw the rungs up with a crochet hook, one row at a time.
Can I rescue a stitch that has run many rows?
Yes, but it takes time and the result can be slightly uneven. Through many rows of patterning, ripping back is often faster.
I found a dropped stitch twenty rows down. Is the project ruined?
No. A crochet hook will ladder it back up regardless of how far it has run; it just takes longer and the tension of the repaired column may need easing out with a blocking. That is still far quicker than unravelling twenty rows.