How to Fix a Dropped Stitch in Knitting (Without Starting Over)

You're knitting along, you glance down, and there it is: a little loop hanging loose below your needle, with a run of horizontal strands above it. You've dropped a stitch. Every knitter does it, and the good news is that it's usually a quick fix.

How to tell you've dropped a stitch

• Your stitch count is one short. This is why counting every few rows helps.
• You see a loose loop sitting below the needle instead of on it.
• There's a "ladder": a column of horizontal strands of yarn stacked above that loose loop. Each strand is one row the stitch missed.

Step 1: Catch it before it runs

A dropped stitch can keep unraveling down your work if it's pulled. As soon as you spot it, slip a locking stitch marker, a safety pin or a spare needle through the loose loop to hold it in place. Then take a breath. It's safe.

Step 2: Knit to the spot

Knit across your row until you reach the place where the stitch belongs, the spot directly above the ladder. You want the loose stitch and its ladder right at your needle tips.

Step 3: Work the stitch back up with a crochet hook

A small crochet hook, roughly the same size as your knitting needle or a little smaller, makes this easy.

If the stitch should be a knit stitch (it looks like a smooth V on the side facing you):

1. Insert the crochet hook into the dropped loop from front to back.
2. Catch the lowest ladder strand above it with the hook.
3. Pull that strand through the loop to make a new loop.
4. Repeat with the next strand up, one strand at a time, until you've used every strand in the ladder.

If the stitch should be a purl stitch (it looks like a bump on the side facing you), the easiest option for beginners is to turn your work around so that stitch faces you as a knit stitch, then follow the steps above.

Step 4: Put it back on the needle

Slip the final loop onto your left needle so it sits the same way as the other stitches, with the front leg of the loop in front of the needle. Then keep knitting. Count your stitches to make sure you're back to the right number.

A note for garter stitch

In garter stitch, where you knit every row, the stitches alternate between smooth Vs and bumps as you go up. When you're fixing a dropped stitch in garter stitch, you'll switch between the knit method and the purl method as you work up the ladder, turning your work as needed so you're always making a knit stitch. It takes a little patience, but it works the same way.

No crochet hook? Use your needles

If the stitch only dropped one row, you can fix it with your knitting needles. Insert your right needle into the dropped loop from front to back, then slide it under the loose strand just behind it, so both are on the right needle. Use the left needle to lift the loop up and over the strand and off the right needle, just like binding off. The strand is now your new stitch. Slip it back onto the left needle and keep knitting.

How to prevent dropped stitches

• Don't push stitches to the very tip of your needle when you put your knitting down.
• Use wood or bamboo needles while you're learning. Stitches slide off less easily than on smooth metal.
• Finish your row before you stop, so your stitches aren't left half on and half off.
• Count your stitches every few rows to catch problems early.

Still learning the basics?

Start with our guide on How to Knit Your First Scarf. If you'd like everything in one box, the Learn to Knit Beginner Kit comes with a spiral-bound Beginner's Guide to Knitting, a practice cloth to build your confidence, a chunky scarf project, wooden needles and all the tools, including stitch markers for moments like this.