Holes in knitting are unwanted and ugly. It is a slip of your knitting needles or a mis-step that has caused a hole in the pattern. Unless it is lace knitting and you’ve intentionally knit artful holes to increase its ethereal beauty. Whether you are new or experienced, there will always be some mistaken holes. The trick is to identify the mistakes and know how to fix them. Mistakes are learning steps in the process of knitting and even advanced knitters may make them. Holes in your project may appear when you are working with single-pointed or circular needles when working on a project back and forth. Or, it can also happen when you are knitting in the round with either a set of double points (DPNs) or the range of circulars.

To help you correct holes in your knitting, first, you have to diagnose your mistake. There are only a few reasons that cause holes in the knitted fabric and inspecting the previous or next stitches will help you understand the problem. Once you understand the mistake then all you have to do is correct it, so let’s take a look at the most common reasons.

  1. Yarn over the needle

A very common mistake that is the reason for the hole is bringing the yarn over the top of the knitting needle at the beginning of a row. When the yarn is brought over the knitting needle, two loops are formed rather than one. Seeing the two loops, both are worked separately and you create two stitches. When you have more stitches to work with than the previous row or round, it results in holes in the knitting. If missed the mistake messes up your knitting pattern (if you are following one) and makes your project slant outwards. If you are knitting with two colors or yarn balls this can happen anytime but you need to be cautious. Use stitch markers to mark the change in the stitch pattern so that you keep in mind to bring the yarn over the needle.

Fix – To avoid making this mistake always make sure the working yarn must be hanging underneath the project and not trapped within the knitting needles. If the stitch you are working is a knit, move the yarn to the back of the work, and if the first stitch is a purl bring the yarn to the front of the project.

  1. Accidental Yarn Over

Accidental yarn overs are the reason for unwanted holes in knitting. This happens when you miss bringing the yarn to the right position. For the knit stitch, you need to keep the yarn to the back and wrap it clockwise. For the purl stitch, you need to bring the yarn to the front and wrap in counter-clockwise. If you miss to bring the yarn over then it results a hole in the project.

Fix – If you spot an accidental yarn over in the next row, drop the yarn over and loosen up the adjacent stitches and adjust the yarn. If the mistake is notice many rows or rounds later you need to either tink (unknit) to the mistake or rip stitches out.

  1. Dropped Stitch

The next common mistake that causes holes in the project is a dropped stitch. A dropped stitch can happen for many reasons but the mistake is easily identifiable, hence easily corrected too. A dropped stitch is basically a stitch that has not been worked. This can happen when you miss to bring the yarn over or you drop the stitch while sliding off the needle tip or for other reasons.

Fix – To fix the dropped stitch, there are two fixes depending on when you spot the mistake. If you spot the dropped stitch a few stitches in the same row, rip out the stitches or tink (unknit) to the point you get to the dropped stitch. If you notice the mistake after a few rows or rounds, then use the repair hook or a crochet hook in the smallest size to get to the dropped stitch and pick it up on the knitting needle.

Besides these, there are many other reasons for unwanted holes in knitting. Most of the problems can be solved by just inspecting the work. While the random holes in a project have nothing to do with knitting needles, it is recommended to use the best-quality needles that work best for you. Premium knitting needles from the Lantern Moon Collection work smoothly with all kinds of yarns. Handcrafted by skilled artisans, each of the knitting needles, crochet hooks, and even accessories display love and beauty along with their uniqueness. The smooth ebony wood premium knitting needles are also lightweight and have a liquid silk finish that lends their smoothness to the projects allowing beautiful knits.

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