How to: fix a dropped purl stitch

A dropped stitch will unravel down the rows if stretched, creating a ladder effect. If it’s a mistake, it needs to be halted, then reconstructed back up the rows with a crochet hook.

If you spot the dropped purl stitch straight away, you may have time to simply pick it up with the LH needle, inserting the tip from front to back, twisting it the correct way to match the other purl stitches.

The principle for a dropped purl stitch is the same as for a knit stitch, but as it is worked from the other side of the fabric it is a little more tricky. A crochet hook around the same size or a little smaller than your needles is easier to use than a larger one. As soon as you have noticed your dropped stitch on the purl side, anchor it with a stitch marker to prevent it moving further down your work. Handling your knitted fabric a lot or stretching it out to take a closer look is likely to result in the stitch dropping even further, so avoid this if you can. You will need to be at the point of the dropped stitch to be able to pick it up again, unpicking your row by tinking to get back to this point if necessary. To pick up the stitch, have the purl side facing you and, working from the back of the fabric, insert a crochet hook into the top of the saved stitch. You can now remove the stitch marker. Hook the wide horizontal bar above the stitch from underneath and pull it straight back through the stitch to reinstate the purl stitch on that row and make it the same size as those around it. You may find it easier to grip the stitch as you pull the crochet hook back through it, and avoid snagging the hook. Pass the crochet hook back to the front to pick up the next horizontal bar in the same way. Repeat this action to work back up the rows. Check that each reinstated purl stitch is the same size as the others around it, otherwise your last stitch may be too small or large and there may be a noticeable column of different sized stitches in your work. At the top of the ladder put the recreated st on the LH needle taking care not to twist it the wrong way – the front leg of the stitch should sit nearer the needle tip than the back leg, matching the other purl stitches on the row. Purl this stitch and carry on with your pattern.