You are about to start a new row of knitting, but then you notice the working yarn is attached to the second stitch instead of the first. What happened? What do you do? This is a really common, and quite disorienting problem, but luckily, it’s an easy fix.

The cause of the problem
What happened is that the last stitch was never actually knitted (or purled or whatever else it was supposed to be). This can happen in three ways. Either you absentmindedly slipped the final stitch instead of knitting it, or you knitted it, but the yarn somehow slipped off before you finished the stitch. Or you dropped the stitch and picked it back up, but the final stitch had dropped one row further, without you realizing it. Whatever the cause, there is a single easy solution.
How to fix the dropped or slipped edge stitch
The stitch has been slipped instead of knitted, so you need to turn the work back around so that you have the empty needle in your left hand and the full one in your right. Then you slip the naughty last stitch back onto the left needle. Knit it. And your done.



Check out my other guides about fixing common knitting mistakes
We all make mistakes! I am currently writing a guide for fixing the most common knitting mistakes for beginners. So far, I’ve covered dropped stitches and gaining extra stitches. More to come, so please follow my blog, if you want to be updated with my latest writings.
Somehow I came across your blog recently and I love it! Printed your trio of dishcloth patterns and am doing the seed stitch version now and will do many more. (If knitting friends ask for pattern, I’ll refer them to your website as you request.). Last night working on a baby blanket, I turned it do to the next row and there was that “dropped or slipped edge stitch”. This has certainly happened before but I would be stalled until someone else fixed it. This morning I went to your blog and easily found my problem with the so helpful photo and was able to do the fix. Thank You Henni!
You are very welcome. Thank you for taking the time to write me. You made my day 😀