As a knitter, learning a new technique is always challenging but overcoming these difficulties will give rewards. These mistakes will become clear when you start doing it.  Have you noticed any changes in your patterns, that might not work properly? Don’t worry, in this post, we have listed a few common knitting mistakes, and how to identify and fix them.

Let’s start and see how we can improve our knitting skills.

Mistake 1 – Too many stitches and holes in knitting

As a beginner, you might accidentally add too many stitches while working on the projects, resulting in holes in the fabric.

How it happens

• This is due to bringing your working yarn into the front rather than keeping it back of the knitting needle. This will create an extra loop on the needle which in turn results in extra stitches and holes in the fabric.
• When you knit in the empty space between the stitches instead of knitting through them.

How to fix

• In case you identify the mistake at the early stage of knitting, unravel the stitch where the mistake occurred.
• You can knit two stitches together if you haven’t worked on too many rows, to get the correct stitch count.
• You can drop the yarn over to loosen up the nearby stitch.

Mistake 2: Dropped stitch

Dropped stitches generally occur when stitches fall off the knitting needles. This happens when yarn is not worked into the stitch properly or when the stitch falls off the needle tip.

 How it happens

• It happens due to the needle size (large or small) of the yarn, causing stitches to fall.
• If you are using the slippery or fuzzy yarn.
• Sometimes distraction can lead to dropped stitches.

How to fix

• To fix the issue don’t stop in the middle, when you see stitches in both needles, it will double the chance of stitches slipping off.
• In case you have to stop in between, push your stitches as far as possible to the back of the needle.
• Choose your yarn wisely, if you are a beginner, use medium worsted-weight yarn, and don’t choose slippery yarn, unless you are confident enough.
• Regularly check your stitches as you knit. You can use the stitch markers from Lantern Moon to keep track.

Mistake 3: Knitting in the Wrong Direction

The situation wherein you knit the stitches in the wrong direction.

How it happens

• It happens when you put your wooden knitting needles in the middle of the row and start it again, you forget or don’t know which stitch you were knitting.

How to fix

• The only solution is to unknit the stitch and knit or purl it again in the right direction.
• To prevent this mistake, always check your working yarn. It should be attached to the last knitted stitch you worked on and then work accordingly.

Mistake 4: Holding the yarn too tight

When you hold the yarn too tightly, this mostly happens with beginners.

How it happens

• When a beginner grips or holds the premium knitting needles or yarn too tightly, just because they do not want the stitches to fall. This might hurt your hand and you get tight stitches.

How to fix

• Firstly you need to relax and hold your yarn loosely. But it should be tight enough to get even stitches. This can be achieved with continuous practice.

Mistake 5: Issue with the gauge

The gauge is also known as tension. It is the number of stitches or rows of yarn per inch. Guage is a tricky thing that you will understand once you start knitting. Keep in mind some points:

How it happens

• When you knit too tightly and then struggle to insert your single or double-pointed knitting needle into the stitches.
• If you knit loosely, your stitches won't look even.

How to fix

• The issue can only be fixed through continuous practice. Try to relax your grip.

So, we hope you are clear about the common issues you face while knitting. Mistakes are part of knitting; it just needs focus and practice. Most importantly, when you are learning, It is easy to correct. With Lantern Moon knitting accessories, you will surely enjoy the knitting journey.

Source:https://medium.com/@lanternmoonhandcrafted/common-knitting-mistakes-and-how-to-fix-them-4175d16eddac