How to pick up stitches from the wrong side

Have you ever wondered how you pick up stitches from the wrong side? In this tutorial, I’ll show you what this technique is good for and give you tips and tricks.

text with "How to pick up stitches from the wrong side", in the background knitted square with picked up stitches

Actually, I tend to pick up stitches from the front. But sometimes it happens that I have to pick up stitches from the back. This can happen with e.g. shawls or baby booties.

In this situation, it’s helpful to know how to pick up stitches from the back so that the front looks nice.

What kind of material do you need?

  • Working yarn
  • Knitting needle

How to pick up stitches from the wrong side

You can either pick up stitches through half or the whole selvedge stitch.

The half selvedge stitch gives you a neat and flat edge, great e.g. for shawls.

Picking up stitches through the whole selvedge stitch brings more stability, but also a thicker edge. This works great for collars or neckbands on a jumper.

  1. Insert the needle from the back
    Insert the needle from the back behind the working yarn into the selvedge stitch.
  2. Wrap the yarn
    Wrap the yarn around the right-hand needle from the bottom, around the front and to the back.
  3. Push the needle through
    With the right index finger hold the yarn on the needle and push the needle through.

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