Lifeline
A lifeline is a strand of smooth waste yarn threaded through a full round of stitches, making it safe to frog back to a known point if you lose your place.
Explanation
A lifeline is a thin, smooth strand, often in a different material than the project yarn, threaded through every stitch in a full round using a tapestry needle. If you later discover a mistake further up in the work, you can safely frog the knitting down to the lifeline without risking stitches falling off entirely and tangling, since the lifeline holds the stitches in place at that point. The technique is widely used in complex lace and cable patterns, where it's easy to lose track and a mistake can be hard to spot until many rows later.
Also known as: Safety line
How to run one in
Thread a fine, smooth strand through all the stitches on the needle with a tapestry needle, without taking them off the needle. Then knit on as usual. If you later have to rip back, the unravelling stops at the lifeline and the stitches sit safely on the thread.
Use smooth cotton or dental floss. Wool catches on the stitches and is hard to pull out.
When it is indispensable
In lace a lifeline is close to mandatory, because the yarn overs vanish the moment the stitches loosen and the pattern becomes unreadable. In mohair it matters just as much, since the yarn grabs itself.
Run one in after every completed pattern repeat rather than after a fixed number of rows. Then you know the point you return to is one where the pattern was correct.
Using a lifeline before you need one
A lifeline is a length of smooth contrasting yarn threaded through a whole row of live stitches, so that if something goes wrong above it you can unravel back to that point and know every stitch is mounted correctly.
It costs about a minute and it is the difference between a recoverable mistake and abandoning a shawl. Thread it after completing a pattern repeat, when the stitch count is known-correct — dental floss or fine smooth cotton works well, and it must be a fibre that will not catch on your knitting yarn. Interchangeable needles with a hole in the tip let you run one in as you knit a row. Lace is the obvious case, but any project with a complicated stitch count benefits.
Common mistakes
- Using wool as a lifeline, which catches on the stitches.
- Threading the lifeline through the stitch markers along with the stitches.
Keywords
- lifeline
- safety thread
- lace knitting
Frequently asked questions
What thread should I use?
Smooth cotton in a contrasting color, or dental floss. Anything that will not catch on the knitting.
How often should I run one in?
After every completed pattern repeat. Then the point you can return to is always one where the pattern was correct.
Can I put in a lifeline after the fact?
Yes. Thread the yarn through the stitches of a completed row with a tapestry needle, following the same path a stitch takes, working along one row consistently. It is fiddlier than doing it as you knit and easy to skip a stitch, so count afterwards — but it is entirely doable and worth it before attempting a repair.