Easy Ripping

I have posted this little helpful hint on Ravelry a couple of times in various groups and have taught at least one student in a sock class I taught this same technique and was successful.

If you have a stockinette project and have made a considerably noticeable mistake and need to rip the project down to that point here is what you can do to make it easier and a little less stressful. First you take a tapestry needle and thread it with a contrasting color of yarn in a smaller gauge. Find the row with the offending (uncooperative) stitch and then start putting the tapestry/darning needle through the right leg of the "V" of your knitted stitch. Perform this process all the way around the project until you come back to where you started. In some cases you may want to go with the row below but that is a matter of preference. Now, take your project off of the knitting needles and start tearing down. Once you get close to the contrasting color of yarn slow down and watch the magic. If you went through all of the stitches correctly you should find the live stitches held on the contrasting yarn and ready to be picked up and put back onto the knitting needles ready to be worked up again. Happy knitting and hopefully easier ripping!

Peace, love, and light!