How to Pick Up a Dropped Stitch and Fix a Ladder

A dropped stitch is not a hole

This is the key to why the fix is easy. When a stitch slips off the needle or works loose in wear, it no longer holds onto the stitch above it – and the column below unravels into a small 'ladder' of horizontal strands. But the yarn has not broken: the whole strand is still there, just in the form of loose rungs. That is completely different from a moth hole or a tear, where the yarn itself is gone and has to be replaced. As long as the ladder is not cut, you can hook the loop back up rung by rung until the stitch sits where it should.

Stop the run before it spreads

The most important thing you do the moment you spot a loose stitch is to secure it so it cannot run any further down:

• Put a safety pin, a stitch marker or a bent paper clip through the loose loop straight away, so it cannot slide further down.
• Do not pull the garment sideways – stretching makes the ladder run faster.
• Turn the garment so you can see the loop and the rungs clearly before you start.
• If several stitches side by side have run, secure each one separately before picking them up one at a time.

How to pick up the stitch with a crochet hook

On stockinette (knit stitches seen from the right side) this is a calm, mechanical job. Use a crochet hook that suits the yarn thickness, and working from the knit side is easiest if you are unsure.

1. Find the lowest loose loop in the ladder and put the crochet hook into it from the front.
2. Catch the lowest horizontal rung of the ladder over the hook.
3. Pull that rung through the loop already on the hook – now you have 'climbed' one step, and a new stitch is formed.
4. Repeat step by step up the ladder, one horizontal rung at a time, until you have used up the whole ladder.
5. When the last loop sits correctly in the top row, hold it with a marker or safety pin while you check, then finally secure it lightly on the back with a little yarn so it cannot slip again.

Stockinette, ribbing and pattern

The method above is for plain stockinette. On other structures you have to follow the pattern so the stitch blends in: on purl stitches you pick up from the purl side the same way, or turn the work each row so you always work towards a knit stitch. Ribbing (knit and purl alternating) and cables require you to switch direction according to the pattern, or the picked-up stitch ends up twisted and visible. If the knit is dense, fluffy mohair or felted, the rungs are hard to tell apart – and then it is easy to pick up wrong or tighten unevenly.

Send the knitwear to us

If the sweater is fine, hand-knitted or important to you, or the stitch has run in a pattern you cannot get to blend in, you can send the garment to us rather than risk it running further. We look at the fault and find the best solution for that specific garment. If the knit also has a hole, a loose edge or a worn seam, we can assess that in the same round. You order online, and you see the price before you order.

Frequently asked questions