Frogging and Recovering Stitches
Frogging — pulling out multiple rows of knitting at once — is the fastest way to undo a major mistake. The challenge is recovering the live stitches afterwards without dropping any.
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When to frog
Mistakes more than 3–5 rows back. Sizing errors discovered during fitting. Any mistake too time-consuming to tink.
Method
Slide the work off the needles. Pull the working yarn to unravel rows. Stop one row above the row you want to restart from.
In partnership Tools and supplies that make this technique easier.
Recovering live stitches
With a needle two sizes smaller than the working needle, pick up each live stitch from the row you stopped on. Picking up smaller helps you catch every loop. Once all stitches are on the smaller needle, switch back to the working needle on the next row.
Avoiding losses
For complex patterns (lace, cables), insert a lifeline before frogging. Frog down to the lifeline; the lifeline guarantees no stitches will drop.
Abbreviation reference
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| st(s) | stitch(es) |
Tips
- Use a smaller needle to recover stitches — easier to catch every loop.
- For complex patterns, insert a lifeline before frogging.
- Frogging is named after "rip-it, rip-it" — the sound of unraveling.
In depth
Frogging is fast because it unravels rows in seconds, but the stitches at the bottom of the unraveled section are unsupported and can drop during recovery. The smaller-needle pickup trick exploits the fact that smaller needles slip into smaller loops more easily, reducing the chance of missing a loop.