A Little Knitting Trick

Of course, I've ripped back 4 times on this piece, and countless times on other projects before having this little strike of genius.  Considering I ribbed back 2 more times on this scarf, a little scrap yarn saved me a few minutes and, most importantly, the headache of picking up loose stitches.

This scarf is my personal creation using the Austrian Rib pattern, along with my own made up pattern that is supposed to be like bobbles on strings.  It's my own pattern that usually causes the problem while I'm working out the kinks and figuring out how to keep the fabric from curling.  I'm used to pulling out my work up to 10 or more times until I'm happy with the results.

So here is my tip: Once you have finished a portion of a project that you are pretty sure you will not need to rip out, grab a piece of scrap yarn and a tapestry needle.  Leave the knitting needle in the work, and follow the knitting needle, as you string the scrap yarn along the knitting needle and through each stitch with the tapestry needle.  Then, continue knitting as normal, leaving the scrap yarn in that row.  Avoid hooking the scrap yarn when you are knitting through each stitch.  The scrap yarn should stay at the bottom of the stitches.

Now, if you don't like what you have knit, you can rip back to that scrap yarn row.  The scrap yarn holds the stitches, so you can't rip back too far.  The scrap yarn holds the stitches in the right order and just as they would be on the needle, so there is no risk of twisting stitches or messing up cabled stitches when you pick up the stitches.  Just insert the knitting needle along the scrap yarn and you are ready to knit again.  You can even leave the scrap yarn in, just in case you need to rip back to that spot yet again.

When the piece is finished, or when you know you won't want to rip back anymore, pull one side of the string, it should pull right out, as it is basically holding the place of a straight knitting needle.  You could add a piece of scrap yarn every few inches, just in case you make a mistake in the following few inches.


-吴碧芙