How to fix common knitting mistakes - Part 2
August 20 2025 – Angeles R
Welcome back to part two of our series on How to fix knitting mistakes. Last time, we looked at some of the most common hiccups and how to get past them without losing your cool. Because let’s be honest – mistakes happen to all of us, no matter how long we’ve been knitting.
In this post, we’re adding a few more tips to your toolkit. We’ll chat about when (and how) to tink, what to do if you’ve missed a yarn over in lacework, and how lifelines can give you peace of mind as you knit. These are simple tricks that can save you a lot of frustration and keep your projects moving forward.
Knitting isn’t about avoiding every misstep – it’s about knowing how to handle them when they come up. And with these extra techniques, you’ll feel a bit more prepared the next time your stitches decide to go wandering.
So, kettle on, needles at the ready – let’s dig into this week’s tips.
Fixing Tip 1: TINK
Tinking (a.k.a. unpicking, or knitting backwards)
Sometimes you spot a mistake just a few stitches back on the same row – that’s when “tinking” comes in handy.
The name itself is a bit of knitterly creativity (it’s literally knit spelled backwards!), and it perfectly describes the process: carefully working your stitches back one at a time to undo what you’ve just knitted.
It’s slower than ripping out whole rows, but it gives you control and lets you fix the issue without losing all your progress.
Some knitters prefer to do this from the wrong side of the work, flipping their project around so they can see the stitches more clearly. Others find it easier to stay on the right side and simply guide each stitch back onto the left-hand needle. The “right” way is whichever feels most comfortable to you.
Quick Tip
Take your time, and make sure you always put the stitch back on your left needle with the front leg of your stitch sitting to the right of the back leg (closer to the tip of your needle). That way, when you knit it again, it won’t twist.
Fixing Tip 2: Picking Up a Dropped Yarn Over
If you’re knitting lace, this one’s for you! A missed yarn over can look intimidating, but if you catch it on the very next right-side row, there’s no need to panic, there is an easy fix. First, identify exactly where that yarn over should be. You might spot a little gap where the extra strand is missing.
Here’s what to do: look at the two horizontal strands of yarn sitting at that spot. Slip them onto the left-hand needle so you’re holding both together. Then, take the lower strand and pass it up and over the upper strand. Once you’ve done that, simply drop the lower strand off the needle — what you’re left with is a neat little yarn over, sitting exactly where it should have been all along.
It might feel a bit fiddly the first time, but once you’ve practised it, this trick can save you from a lot of unpicking. It’s a really handy one to have in your lace-knitting toolbox, and it means one missed yarn over doesn’t have to unravel your flow or your confidence.
Fixing Tip 3: When you can't fix, set up a safety net.
This last tip isn’t really a “fix” in the moment, but more of a safety net to prevent bigger headaches down the line. Lifelines are simply strands of smooth yarn or thread that you insert through the live stitches on your needle as you knit. They sit quietly in your work, ready to catch your stitches if you need to rip back.
They’re especially helpful when knitting intricate lace, working with multiple strands, or tackling any project where you know dropped stitches would be a nightmare to recover.
How often you insert a lifeline is up to you — some knitters like to add one every pattern repeat, others every 10–12 rows. The key is choosing points in your knitting where you feel confident everything is correct.
That way, if you spot a mistake later on, you can frog back to the lifeline, knowing your stitches are safely held and easy to pick up again. It’s a little extra effort as you go, but it can save hours of frustration and keep your project on track.
Want to learn some more?
If you’ve found these tips helpful, you might enjoy taking things a step further with our Follow Along Courses . Each one is packed with clear video tutorials and online support from our team, so you can build your skills with confidence.
Learn how to knit your first pair of socks, tackle a colourwork project or even knitting your very first sweater, we’ll be right there with you, stitch by stitch. You’ll have all the guidance, tips, and encouragement you need – plus the reassurance that if a mistake does happen, you’ll know exactly how to fix it and carry on.
Handy Tools
We've put together a collection of handy tools that will help you tackle these tricky knitting mishaps.
