Before you can fix slipped knit stitches, you will need to know what they are and how to spot them.
If you move a live stitch from needle to needle without working into it, you have slipped a stitch.
When you slip a stitch accidentally, it will alter the weave of your finished object. Slipped stitches will appear as enlarged stitches on the knitside of your work. When you stretch your work a bit, you will see that your rows no longer line up correctly around that extra-large stitch.
When you turn to the purlside, there will be a loose and misplaced loop among the purl stitches; this is the stitch that was not worked with the rest of its row.
Below are video and written guides, which will help you learn to spot, then fix slipped knit stitches.
Video Guide: Common Knitting Mistakes, Fixing Slipped Knit Stitches
Written Guide: Fixing Slipped Knit Stitches
Once you have spotted a slipped stitch in a prior row, you can fix it before you bind off your work. You can fix a slipped stitch from either the knitside or the purlside of your work. Below, I’ll show you how to fix the mistake from the purlside.
Fix a Slipped Stitch, Step 1:
Continue working your pattern until you reach the column in which you have slipped a stitch.
Fix a Slipped Stitch, Step 2:
When you reach the stitch at the top of the column in which the mistake is located, carefully slide it off the left-hand needle tip.
Fix a Slipped Stitch, Step 3:
Pull gently on the stitch you just dropped off the needle, unraveling the column of stitches only until you reach your mistake.
Fix a Slipped Stitch, Step 4:
When working from the purlside, place the slipped stitch behind the “ladder” of undone stitches.
Fix a Slipped Stitch, Step 5:
Insert your crochet hook into the slipped stitch from the back to the front. Be sure your stitch is not twisted by confirming that the legs are not crossed.
Fix a Slipped Stitch, Step 6:
With the crochet hook, grab the strand directly above the twisted stitch.
Fix a Slipped Stitch, Step 7:
Pull the hook and the strand of yarn through the loop on the crochet hook; this will chain the strand through the newly untwisted stitch.
Fix a Slipped Stitch, Step 8:
Continue pulling the strands of yarn directly through the loop on the crochet hook until no more strands remain in the “ladder” of loose stitches. Always check that each corrected stitch is not twisted before you move on to the next.
Fix a Slipped Stitch, Step 9:
Once you have reached the top of your work, ensure no loose strands remain above or behind the column you have just corrected.
Fix a Slipped Stitch, Step 10:
Move the loop from your crochet hook to the left-hand knitting needle.
Fix a Slipped Stitch, Step 11:
To prevent twisted stitches, be sure the right leg is in front of the needle and the left leg is behind the needle.
Fix a Slipped Stitch, Step 12:
Check that you have corrected the problem, then continue working on your pattern.
Practice With My Knitting Patterns
In this guide I was making a Simple Face Scrubby. Knit along with me. This pattern is part of my Simple Washcloth Knitting Pattern Collection.
Up Next
After you have learned to fix your knitting mistakes, you may want to know how to unravel a few rows to correct a problem. Or you can undo an entire knitting project to reuse the yarn. Either way, knitters call this “frogging,” and I will show you how in the next tutorial.
Go Back to the Learn to Knit Index