How to Tink

Mistakes can pop up when you’re knitting and often it can feel like there is no option but to rip it all out and start again, but what if there was a simpler way? A good technique to know is how to ‘Tink’. This is the process of knitting backwards and is the most important skill to learn. However, be warned, this technique is only viable for mistakes in your current or last row. It is possible to fix mistakes from earlier in the piece, but it can be a long and tedious process. 

Step 1:

Going from front to back, slip the left needle into the first stitch.  

 

Step 2:

Next pull the right needle out of the stitch, then you can tug your yarn gently out of the stitch. Your stitch should now have gone from the right needle to the left one. 

 

Step 3:

Now just repeat those first two steps until you reach the stitch that needs fixed. 

 

 

While tinking will not fix every problem that you come across while knitting, it is the best way to go back and fix recent mistakes - think of it like erasing your last few stitches so you can fix them. Mistakes can be easily noticed in a large piece of knitting but by using this method you won’t need to worry about that! 

 

Sometimes small mistakes happen that we don’t even notice, but now that you know how to fix them, the need to rip it all out and start again is mostly a thing of the past. You can go on and knit with the knowledge that not even a small mixed-up stitch can stop you.