![How to pick up a dropped stitch - by La Visch Designs](https://www.lavisch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/How-to-pick-up-a-dropped-stitch_sq-1024x1024.jpg)
It happens to all of us: dropping a stitch in the middle of your knitting… When using a somewhat sticky yarn it’s usually just a matter of placing the stitch back on the needle and continue as before. When using a smooth, slippery yarn, it can however be that the dropped stitch runs down in your work, leaving a wake loose threads behind. The same can happy with a less smooth yarn, if it isn’t detected at first that a certain stitch has escaped from the needles.
Don’t panic, though! Picking up a dropped stitch in plain
Pick up a dropped stitch step-by-step
1. First, get your crochet hook and catch that run-away stitch before it runs down even further! Pay attention to the stitch itself and the one directly below: see that it has a purl bump directly below the captured stitch? This means that in this swatch (in garter stitch) the next stitch to be worked is to be a knit stitch. For that reason, I insert my crochet hook from the front to the back through the stitch.
![How to pick up a dropped stitch - by La Visch Designs](https://www.lavisch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/How-to-pick-up-a-dropped-stitch_1-1024x1024.jpg)
2. Next, grab the loose thread directly above and pull it through the first stitch on the hook.
![How to pick up a dropped stitch - by La Visch Designs](https://www.lavisch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/How-to-pick-up-a-dropped-stitch_2-1024x1024.jpg)
3. In this picture you see how this looks once the crochet hook has been removed. Now, if we were picking up a dropped stitch in stockinette fabric we would just repeat steps 1 and 2. We are, however working in garter stitch, so a few more steps are needed.
![How to pick up a dropped stitch - by La Visch Designs](https://www.lavisch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/How-to-pick-up-a-dropped-stitch_3-1024x1024.jpg)
4. For the next stitch to be laddered back up, we need to work a purl stitch. To start, I move the next loose thread
![How to pick up a dropped stitch - by La Visch Designs](https://www.lavisch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/How-to-pick-up-a-dropped-stitch_4-1024x1024.jpg)
5. Next, insert the crochet hook into the stitch from the back to the front, grab the loose thread and pull it through the stitch on the hook.
![How to pick up a dropped stitch - by La Visch Designs](https://www.lavisch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/How-to-pick-up-a-dropped-stitch_5-1024x1024.jpg)
6. Now we have made a lovely purl stitch! You can recognize it by the purl bump (horizontal) directly below the loop on the hook.
![How to pick up a dropped stitch - by La Visch Designs](https://www.lavisch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/How-to-pick-up-a-dropped-stitch_6-1024x1024.jpg)
7. Repeat steps 1-6 as often as needed to work your way back up and place the dropped stitch back on the needle. And that’s how to pick up a dropped stitch!
![How to pick up a dropped stitch - by La Visch Designs](https://www.lavisch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/How-to-pick-up-a-dropped-stitch_7-1024x1024.jpg)
Some more thoughts
In this example in garter stitch, I started with a knit stitch. If the stitch had run down another row, though, I would have had to start with a purl stitch instead. In other words: steps 4-6 followed by steps 1-3 instead of the other way around. This is why it’s so important to learn how to read your knitting!
Also, laddering a stitch back up can cause some pulling and unevenness in the fabric. This usually evens out with blocking though. If you have a lot of difference in the tension, you can also tease the stitches back to approx. the same size using a spare knitting needle.
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