First covered in my Cuff Down Ribber Sock video and written pattern posted on MY SOCK YOUTUBE VIDEOS page, I “Park” (remove) my ribber before starting the Heel of my cuff down socks (and remove it completely again before working the Toe). With the ribber removed we can easily confirm no dropped stitches and fix any that occurred (if they occurred) during those non-ribber installed times.
To protect live stitches from falling off the needles while fixing dropped stitches it had been suggested to add elastics to the needles prior to working. The elastics save the fabric from lifting off the needles and becoming undone.
To stop needles from snagging on the knitting when you raise and lay the knitting on top, one can lay a piece of plastic on the needles to prevent snagging.
Regarding the two images above: A Cuff Down Ribbed Sock was worked to the end of the segment just before the Heel (we call it the Pre-Heel) and the Ribber is removed from the machine after the ribber needles were “Parked”. The Ribber was then removed from the machine and the ribber needles each still holding their ribbed stitch, laid on the inside of the cylinder knitting to keep the ribber needles clear from collision while the next segment will be worked - the Heel. However this time upon removal we note a single stitch dropped. The red arrows show the dropped stitch.
Adding something to lock the cylinder needle stitches to their needles is a great way to ensure nothing drops during stitch repair or re-latching. Elastics are simple and were proposed at an event in the past however now I use the red item shown below. See ALL THE INFO (on elastics and this full technique) by viewing the full sock video and/or just the 6 minute technique video.
The LIVE STITCH NEEDLE LOCK - an alternative to elastics
I recently came up with an elastic alternative as I’m often losing elastics (or they break). I created the D.I.Y.: LIVE STITCH NEEDLE LOCK (Version 3.0) - Recycling a unused red lid of the perfect diameter, I trimmed it to cover half the cylinder needles on my 72 needle slot cylinder. It clips gently in place and can have knitting easily laid on top during re-latching of any dropped stitch as it protects against snagging the hooks. I strongly suggest making yourself one if you can find a lid with the perfect diameter and have a dremel to shape the plastic.
Exploring alternatives My version 1.0 involved the modification of a DVD re-writeable plastic lid that comes with 50 piece new blank DVD’s stack but I found the plastic brittle, unreliable and thin. Version 2.0 involved trimming down a slightly too small lid which would be held down onto the lowered cylinder needles kind of like ortho ‘headgear’ stays on with elastics (I fondly nicknamed it wishbone as its thin narrow curved shape looked bone-like). Finally I came up with this Version 3.0 which I live the best due to its simplicity and lack of hooks or elastics while being robust.
For other ideas and upgrades including a reference to this red lid container used here please see MY IDEAS AND UPGRADES page.
For MORE help with DROPPED STITCHES see that category on my TECHNIQUES page found under the menu “My Patterns and Videos”
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