Big Box of Knitting Fails – Picking Up Stitches
For those of you that have taken classes with me, you know all about “Patty’s Big Box of Knitting Fails”. I seem to have an example of something tragic I’ve done in my knitting for nearly everything I’m teaching. So, I’m launching a new blog series to dig into my knitting boo boos. Today’s episode . . .
Picking Up Stitches
or . . . more than stabbing a needle through the fabric.
I knit a sweater for David many, many years ago. It was my second sweater (after the unwearable sweater I knit for myself, but I’ll save that for another day). There is so much wrong with the sweater, that it has to be two different “Fail” blogs.
First up the v neck. One secret to decent finishing is preparing for the finish. When you do your decreases one or two stitches from the edge, you get this lovely pick up line. Here’s how it should look.
Back in the bad old days of knitting, I didn’t know that “Decrease one stitch each side of neck”, did not mean REALLY at each side, so I did the k2tog and ssk RIGHT at the edge. That meant I had no clean spot to pick up.
In addition, I thought picking up stitches meant stabbing my needle front to back through the fabric, ANYPLACE, and pulling yarn through. Sigh.
Final sadness, I had 5 knit stitches right in the middle of the sweater (it was knit in a k5, p1 rib). Did I bother putting the center stitch on a holder so I could have it even . . . nope. Notice the horrible v neck divide.
Don’t let bad finishing ruing good knitting (or in the case of my ancient sweater, average knitting).
Learn more about finishing in any of my video sweater classes.
Okay, I laughed out LOUD – probably because I recognized this as something I would have done, except you are saving my knitting life, blog post by blog post! And may I say how much I admire your perseverance and trust that your knitting would truly get better and better and better, and that you did not throw down your needles in defeat. Thank you for bringing us all of your triumphs – and now these impressive and instructive fails. You are a gem.