The Knitting Fiend

Gayle emailed me and asked:

I can’t find any articles in books or blogs about how to pick up garter or seeds stitches that have dropped a few rows. Can anyone explain in easy to understand English how to do it?

Well, I’ll try! Here’s how I pick up stitches in garter stitch if I have a crochet hook handy.

To illustrate, I began by knitting stockinette and then knitting a few rows of garter stitch using all knit rows. I knit a few stitches in a row. Then I dropped the next two stitches on purpose; see above left.

Now, to pick these up, I need to figure out if the dropped stitch looked like a knit or purl on this side. If I hadn’t dropped the two stitches, I would knit into the next stitch on the row I’m currently knitting.

The dropped stitch in the row below the one I was knitting was knit, but because I turned the work after I knit the previous row, it presents itself as a purl from the side facing me. The stitch two rows below presents itself as a knit; it was knit with the current side facing.

Now, I want to pick both dropped stitches up and still have garter stitch.

I need to start from the bottom and work up. The bottom dropped stitch was knit with this current side facing. I insert the crochet hook through the stitch front to back. I then fill the hook; see above right. Draw the loop on the hook and pull through from back to front; see below left. This is how you pick up a knit stitch and is exactly as you would see illustrated for picking up a knit stitch from the knit side in stockinette.

Now, for the hard part! It’s not so hard. In fact, it’s only difficult if you try to avoid turning the the work.

Leaving the hook in the stitch to prevent dropping it, turn the work. The hook is now behind the work and inserted through the stitch from back to front; see above right.

Now, remove the crochet hook from the stitch, and insert it front to back. Fill the hook with the horizontal strand as shown to the left. Draw the strand on the hook through the stitch on the hook from back to front, just as done when picking up the previous stitch (Not illustrated, but just as before.)

Notice, you’ve picked up a knit stitch, but from the opposite side of the work.

In my case this was the last stitch to pick up, so I put it on the knitting needle, turned the work back and knit across the row.

If you dropped lots of stitches in garter stitch, you will need to keep turning the work after each row until you’ve picked up all the dropped stitches. That’s a pain in the neck.

I suspect you’ve figured out seed stitch, right? You just need to figure out which side the stitch looks like it’s been knit on, and turn to draw up a knit stitch.

Oh. Let me tell you a secret. I actually don’t use a crochet hook; I use the knitting needle and sort of yarn over and either knit and purl the stitches. Unfortunately, it’s really, really difficult to photograph that — but I bet lots of you can figure that out now that you know the principal of pulling the strand through the stitch. If you can’t just use the crochet hook.