How to Fix a Dropped Cast On Stitch

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:

I’ve shared a lot of Christmas stocking knitting patterns over the years (see posts 1, 2, 3 for example) but what if you want to knit a stocking for a non-human member of your family. If you’re looking for Christmas stocking knitting patterns for your cats or dogs, this is the post for you.

These large paw print stockings are perfect for either dogs or cats, so they’re great to knit if you have both. They are worked in the round using DK weight yarn, and the stocking measures about 17 inches/43 cm from the top to the heel. You can get the pattern from nicolaluke.

The K4 Project has a super cute Kitty Christmas stocking pattern, which is worked in worsted weight yarn. They also have a dog version, or you can buy both and get a discount if you have both dogs and cats to knit for. Both projects have two patterns, showing how to work the stockings flat or in the round.

Put your dog into a Christmas scene with this stocking pattern from ifanhourChild. It shows a dog in a dog house in the snow, and has room for the dog’s name at the top. It’s worked flat using worsted weight yarn and the pattern includes charts for many small and medium dog breeds (there’s a separate listing for bigger dogs) so you can stitch a dog that looks like yours.

Annie’s Woolens has both dog and cat stocking knitting patterns that are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. You can change up the colors to suit your pet if you want, and they come with an alphabet chart for personalization. Or you can stick with holiday colors and buy a kit to make the dog or cat stocking.

Waiting for Santa Paws is a pattern from Kate Agner on Ravelry that would be cute for a dog or a cat. It looks like a leg with a paw print on the bottom part of the foot and more paw prints running around the top of the leg. This is a great option if you don’t want to mess with a heel turn because it doesn’t have a heel, because dogs and cats don’t have heels so why would their stockings?

Book Review – 20 to Knit: Tiny Christmas Toys to Knit

Book Review – Knit Christmas Stockings

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