How to Pick Up Stitches from the Wrong Side

In knitting, picking up stitches is an invaluable technique that is often employed in projects which involve bringing stitches to the knitting needles. In other words, it entails adding new stitches to an already existing piece of knitting. This fundamental skill grants knitters a variety of potential outcomes, including the creation of sleeves, collars, or button bands that are professional-looking and long-lasting. As a versatile method, you can use it with single-pointed, circular, or double-pointed knitting needles in any project.

Why Pick up Stitches?

The time you should think of picking up stitches is every time you want to abstain from sewing the edges together. Knitting is known for its possibility to deliver seamlessly-made garments, and this technique makes it possible. For larger pieces such as cardigans or sweaters, it is recommended to possess a set of interchangeable circular knitting needles. It permits easy swaps between different needle sizes without needing to purchase various fixed circular needles. This is useful if you will use a different needle size to increase the loops than what was used in the main part of the project.

There are many places to pick up stitches in knitting. You can pick stitches from the cast on a row or round. This can also work for seamed edges or edges of a raglan sweater.

When is it beneficial to pick up stitches?

Picking up stitches is beneficial every time you wish to avoid having to sew two edges together.

1. Add sleeves to a sweater by picking up stitches on the armholes to knit the sleeves.

2. Creating a collar or cuffs along the neckline or around the bottom of a sweater.

3. Knitting shawls, blankets, or scarves to create a border or fringe.

4. To knit the heels of a sock. But if you knit a traditional, rectangular Dutch heel, you will need to pick up stitches along the edges of the heel flap to create the turn.

5. Creating button bands along the borders of a V-shaped sweater or cardigan, you can create buttons bands to give your work a neat closure.

6. Repairing knits or holes in a piece of knitting and re-knit the affected area.

7. Crafting pockets into your cardigans or jumpers.

The steps to pick up stitches are simple:

Step 1. Inspect your knitting piece and identify the edge you need to pick the stitches. Ensure that the edge is flat and consistent.

Step 2. Maintain the area to work on with your left hand and the empty needle with your right hand. Reversed for left-handers.

Step 3. Insert the tip of the right-hand knitting needle from the back to the front of the first stitch at the edge of your knitting project.

Step 4. Place the yarn over the right-hand needle from the back to the front.

Step 5. Draw the yarn loop through the stitch on the edge of the knitting project, producing a new stitch on the right-hand needle.

Step 6. Proceed with steps 3-5 for the entirety of the edge, lifting one stitch at each stitch or space.

Step 7. After all the necessary loops have been inserted into the left-hand needle, you can either knit or purl them as desired.

You can pick up stitches in knitting in three significant segments- cast on, bind off and edges. A significant factor to take into account is that the tension of the stitches you pick up affects the tension of the remainder of the project, so ensure to lift the stitches with the same tension as your knitting. Furthermore, you can also pick up stitches from different areas of a knitting project. If you have been directed to do so from the wrong side, you will still have to bring them to the right side of the piece and operate on them. This could be the case with shawls or baby booties. The difference between picking up stitches from a knit edge and a purl edge lies in the direction of insertion of the knitting needle tip.

For the knit edge, it is from the front to the back and for the purl edge, the needle should be inserted from the back to the front. This would affect the look of the transition. Additionally, the tension of the stitches will differ: for a knit edge the stitches are more likely to be looser and for a purl edge, they are more likely to be tighter. So, it might be necessary to modify the tension when dealing with a purl edge.

In addition to being a functional technique, picking up stitches can also open new avenues of creativity in knitting. By experimenting with colors, patterns, textures, and borders, knitters can create one-of-a-kind scarves, blankets, and shawls that will garner compliments from all.

So, pick up this captivating technique and discover your creative abilities!