How to Fix a Dropped Cast On Stitch

May 18, 2023 by Sarah White

I feel like if you knit long enough you’ll make every possible mistake that a knitter can make. And while it might feel like no one possibly could have done that same boneheaded thing you just did, I can guarantee you someone has done it before. And probably someone else has done it and written a blog post or made a video to show you how to fix it.

I don’t exactly remember how I managed to drop a cast on stitch, but I’m sure I was just pushing the stitches too far too fast on my needles and one of them fell off. I know it’s happened more than once.

If your cast on isn’t that long it’s not a huge deal to just rip it out and start over, but if your cast on is vast (especially if you’ve already knit most of your first row, too) you probably don’t want to use that option.

Patty Lyons is coming to out rescue, as she so often does, with a post over at Modern Daily Knitting explaining exactly how to pick up a cast on stitch you’ve dropped. This method works for a long tail cast on, which I feel like is what most people do most of the time so it should be pretty helpful to know this method.

Taking the time to understand what’s happening in a cast on or when working different stitches is super important to building your confidence as a knitter and a fixer of mistakes, because when you know what the yarn is doing it’s a lot easier to re-create that when you need to fix a mistake. And of course the closer we can get to what would be happening to the yarn if we were knitting normally, the less obvious the fix is going to be.

In this case if you take your time to do it right, it won’t be visible at all. How great is that?

[Photo via Modern Daily Knitting.]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Stitch Some Seagulls on Your Sweater

It’s been well documented that I love a knitting pattern with a bit of whimsy, so when I saw the Mine! Pullover from Sarah L. Kelly recently I knew I had to share it with you.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to knit a sweater with a yoke full of seagulls? And another seagull at the waist? Chasing little crabs?

The story behind the sweater (and you knew there had to be one, right?) is that while Sarah was traveling around Europe there were a lot of cheeky seagulls about. They reminded her of the scene in Finding Nemo where the seagulls say “mine, mine, mine” and thus the Mine! series of patterns was born.

Oh yes, there’s a whole set. It was the sweater I saw first but there’s also a pair of socks (and the pattern says there’s a cowl, too, but I couldn’t find it as of this writing. If you see it let me know and I’ll add the link here!) so you can totally deck yourself out in pesky seabirds if you want.

But back to the sweater for now. This is worked in DK weight yarn from the top down in the round. The yoke and a section at the bottom are worked in stranded colorwork, with stripes on the body, though you could make the body a single color if you wanted. Details like the beaks and eyes are added with duplicate stitch to make the knitting a little easier.

The colorwork sections are charted. The pattern comes in 10 sizes, with a finished chest circumference ranging from 32 to 68 inches, or 80 to 170 cm.

The socks are worked in sock yarn and come in three sizes. There worked from the cuff down and change needle sizes to accommodate the less stretchy nature of stranded colorwork. You can choose from a side profile or a seagull that’s looking out from the sock. Make a matching pair or mix it up.

Both patterns are available on Ravelry: sweater and socks. If you make them I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Sarah L. Kelly]