How to Pick Up Stitches for Knitting

Last month I told you a bit about the continuing saga of me knitting an argyle vest, which has given me lots of opportunities for writing tutorials about different skills that were used in making it.

That particular post was about duplicate stitch, which is essential for making the diagonal lines that are what makes it look like argyle.

It also gave me a chance to write about picking up stitches, because it had just about every scenario in which you might need to pick up stitches in one place.

But before that, have you checked out the post on Circular Knitting Machine FAQs?

The vest has a deep scoop neck, so there were places to pick up stitches that were straight horizontal (bound off edge at the bottom of the neckline), straight vertical along the sides and along a curve/diagonal in between.

I go into a lot more detail in the post about how to actually go about picking up all these stitches in different locations, but there are a couple of main things you should know if you need to pick up a lot of stitches for a project.

First: if you’re picking up a lot of stitches, add some locking stitch markers, at least to divide the area in half if not in quarters or more. This will help you make sure you’re picking up the right number of stitches in each section, so if you’re wildly off you can just rip out a little bit and try again.

Second: stitch counts in patterns are not magic. It’s not the end of the world if you’re off by a few in either direction, so long as you have the stitch multiple needed to complete the edging. You can always increase or decrease a couple of stitches in the first round if you need to. No one is going to count, and as long as the edge lies flat (or looks the way it’s supposed to) when you’re done it’s totally fine.

Check out all the tips for picking up stitches at Our Daily Craft.

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long.

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders.

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well.

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn.

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions.

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table.

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter.

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.

Have you read?