I made a terrible mistake and worked a few rows on the Belinda Wrap after drinking a few glasses of wine (NOT a good idea!). I dropped a few stitches a few rows back and wound up with the YO spaces in the wrong spots - it’s a mess and if it were any other project I’d rip it back a few rows. I’m terrified to do it with this yarn and pattern, fearing I’ll never be able to figure out how to pick up all the stitches, even on a wrong side row. I’m over 60 “holes” in, so I really don’t want to completely start over. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Oh wow, I’m so sorry to hear it! I had some dropped stitches in my Belinda Wrap, but I saw them before I’d gone off the rails with my YOs. I kind of wrestled them back onto my needles.
I truly think you can rip back a few rows with success, if you do it at a table where you can go slowly and watch the stitches as you undo them. You could add a lifeline through a WS row (those are the rows where you aren’t creating YOs, you’re just p3, k1).
Here’s the extremely calming Jen Arnall-Culliford in her brilliant video, “Adding a Lifeline.”
Wishing you good luck, and a stiff drink when it’s all back on track!
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Thanks so much for the tips and encouragement! And the link/introduction to Jen Arnall-Culliford ~ excellent and yes, extremely calming. She reminds me of Ninya Mikhaila ~ I love listening to her and watching her work. I think MDK also turned me onto her ~ I love all y’all and your wonderful stories and help that you share, besides all the great yarns and projects!
Anyway, I’m calm and ready to spread it out on the work table and give it a whirl this afternoon. Thanks again!
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Fingers crossed! ; )
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You can also just settle into a really comfy chair and tink it. I would suggest having a sturdy straight pin within arms reach to wiggle away those spots where the fluff connects. It will take a while but you’ll find your zen.
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I had a similar problem earlier on. I tried to rip down 5 or 6 rounds and pick up on the WS row. It didn’t work for me. I had to start over. But I have not done a lot of lace work, so picking up with YOs was tough. You’ve received some good advice. Don’t try to rush it. I’m happy I didn’t just go on with the problem glaring at me.
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Crisis averted! I’ve worked a few rows from where I started again and it’s working right and looking good : )
I laid it out on the work table with good light. Frogged a couple of rows, and then started picking up stitches on a wrong side row. Having a sturdy straight pin handy to wiggle apart the fluff that has stuck together is a very good idea! I was using small scissors and accidentally cut the yarn. Then I realized I needed to rip 2 more rows to get past all the “wine mistakes,” so I put the scissors aside and first ripped one completely. Then I couldn’t tink exactly, but ripping out just a few stitches at a time and then carefully putting on the stitch below, winding the 2 YO from the slack, and then the next stitch before ripping the next set worked great. Definitely a zen practice!
Thanks again for all the great tips and encouragement! I’m ready for that stiff drink now! Cheers!
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That is amazing! Incredible work!
Thank you! It truly is a “zenful” labor of love, even when it’s going smoothly. But like Ann says, I’m sure it will be a treasure to love for many, many years 
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Oh my goodness. I’m less than 40 rows in and had a few wonky spots in the early rows but too far to want to frog. I may have cinched a place together and secured it with a little yarn. But I’m pretty sure I could have never had the guts to do what you did. BRAVO!!!
I have fear of lace mistakes anxiety on good days anyway so double BRAVO!
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Thanks, Lucy! Like I said, I, too, was terrified - this is my first attempt to knit lace, and the mohair makes it especially challenging.
I’m ok with a little glitch in my projects here and there - I’m in the “it makes it uniquely mine” camp. But the dropped stitches and holes in the wrong places for several rows on this one just couldn’t be fixed without ripping. Armed with some great MDK encouragement, it really wasn’t that scary after I ripped a few rows slowly, really paying attention to how the right side row and the wrong side row looked as I ripped. After ripping a few rows I decided it would be easier to rip back to where the row I’d be putting back on the needle would be a right side row; then I’d start knitting again with a wrong side row.
I learned that the right side row rips out fairly easily, but the wrong side row requires a little tugging. Definitely have a sturdy straight pin handy to work apart the mohair that has stuck together. Lay it out on a work table with good light. Rip down to where you need to and stop after you’ve ripped a right side row, turn it over and get ready to rip the wrong side row just 4 stitches at a time. Pull out just 4 stitches. Then pick up and put that first stitch back on your needle (which is the K2tog stitch from the right side row), pick up/wind 2 YO stitches from the slack yarn that was the 2 YO stitches from the right side row, and then pick up the 4th stitch (which is the SSK stitch from the right side row). Continue with 4 stitches at a time until you get them all back on. Some of my YO’s were going the wrong way once I had all stitches back on and started knitting the right side row, but it was obvious and easy to unwind and wind them on the right way as I got to them.
Honestly, once you get it laid out and rip a few rows very carefully before you get to where you need to get it back on the needles, it’s not as scary as you’d think. It is very slow going, with all the mohair sticking together here and there, but not nearly as painful as I expected it be. Hopefully you won’t need to do it, and I hope I don’t have to again, but sometimes even without wine things get out of whack. If it happens, I encourage you to give it a rip! ~ Kim
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Hey, that looks great! I have a process I call the UNKNIT. I treat it like regular knitting and undo my work slowly and carefully without judgment. I then go back to where the problem began. It’s a good meditation and patience practice. I’ve had to employ it several times with the Belinda Wrap. I have always returned to a point where I can move forward again. It’s so beautiful I am committed to a completed project. Good luck!
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Thanks, Judith! I had so many rows to go back it would have taken forever to unknit (or as I learned from kjt, some folks call it tink, knit spelled backwards : ) so I took the plunge and frogged. If it was only a row or so to back track, I would definitely unknit.
It really is so beautiful - I’m making the larger version, so I’m sure I’ll be working on it a very long time. Even when you don’t make a mistake, it’s a very meditative practice. Love it! ~ Kim
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I’m embarrassed to report that I failed lace knitting 101 again. Never knit lace while drinking wine (first big lesson) and never leave your work on the needle unprotected. We’re camping now and my notions aren’t all in one spot. I didn’t have a point protector handy so when I took a break yesterday I stuck my work in my bag without one. Last night I grabbed the needles and the entire piece came off the working needle. ACKKK!
So, this morning I got to experience one row of slow frogging and tinking on the beloved Belinda Wrap. I can confirm that it was easier for me to tink and return stitches to the needle on a right side row, so I will start knitting again on a wrong side row. And I learned it was much less terrifying the second time around! lol I now have my point protectors in hand and I’m ready to Knit On : ) ~ Kim
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