I don’t pick up stitches in the standard way. Initially, I didn’t even realize that I was doing it differently from other knitters, it was a technique I developed on my own because it made sense to me. I’ve tried the traditional method, but I continue to pick up my way, it just works better for me.
Picking Up Stitches “Backwards”
Traditional instructions tell you to insert the needle into the knitting, and then wrap the yarn clockwise, as if you are knitting. What I do is wrap the yarn counter-clockwise. When these backwards stitches are knit on the next row they’ll be twisted. This prevents holes, a common problem along the picked-up edge.
Now admittedly, I knit loosely, and for someone who tends to knit tightly, my technique might create a problem where the picked-up stitches are tight and difficult to work into. You can get the same effect by picking up stitches in the traditional way, and then knitting through the back loops on the row after the pick-up row. Either way, twisting the pick-up stitches tightens them up and avoids holes. If you have problems with holes or gaps, give these methods a try.
How Many Stitches to Pick Up?
Generally, when working in stockinette, you’ll want to pick up three stitches for every four rows. It’s possible that you’ll need a different ratio depending on what exactly you’re doing or what stitch pattern you’re using—two stitches for every three rows, or four stitches for every five rows—so take a close look at your work after picking up stitches.
Knowing this, you can adjust patterns more easily. Say you’re knitting a sweater and you want to drop the neckline a little lower in the front by an inch or so. The instructions say to pick up so-many stitches around the neck to knit the neck band. All you have to do is start the neck shaping an inch or so lower than the pattern says, and then when you’re picking up for the neck band, you can follow the three out of four ratio.
If you need more help with figuring out how to pick up stitches, I recommend going to YouTube and searching for “picking up stitches” there. I intend to eventually make a video of my technique, if and when I do, I’ll post it to this article.
