Did you know that you can install an insurance policy for your mistakes into your knitting? Lifelines are a valuable tool to save your stitches! A lifeline is a smooth, much thinner thread that is placed through every stitch in a row. The stitches are not moved off the needles, the thread runs straight through a row and then is ignored unless you decide you need it. One of the most valuable traits of a lifeline is that it helps keep your stitches oriented in the correct direction. No accidental twisted stitches!
How does a lifeline work? After you “install” the lineline, you just keep knitting! If you make a mistake you can’t fix, you can comfortably rip back to the lineline to save your progress. Add a new lifeline after every vertical chart repeat, or anywhere you want a little safety net.
Lifelines are useful if you’re about to:
try something new
try something challenging
deviate from the pattern
or you want the confidence that you won’t need to frog beyond that point in the future
Our favorite things to use for lifelines:
Embroidery floss
Dental floss
Crochet thread
Scrap yarn
Did you know that your Chiaogoo Circular Needles have a lifeline hole built into them? At the base of your needle is a hole where you can tie your lifeline, then you just knit your row as usual! If you tie your lifeline to your left needle your lifeline will run through your last row, if you tie your lifeline to your right needle your lifeline will run through your current row. (Warning: This method is not recommend for patterns with a lot of stitch markers as your lifeline will need to be untied and retied to the needle to exclude every stitch marker). Make sure you leave a few inches on either side of your lifeline so that your knitting can stretch and the lifeline doesn’t fall out of the edge stitches.
The lifeline hole on your needle is located where the needle meets the cord.
I used #10 crochet thread. This was about as thick of a string that would fit through the needle.
Tie a knot tight enough to make it through a row of knitting, but loose enough to take it off easily when you reach a stitch marker or finish the row.
If you don’t have needles with a lifeline hole in them, that's ok! You can simply use your darning needle to thread all your stitches onto your lifeline. Tip: If you’re using circular needles, move your stitches to the cable to make it easier to thread your needle through your stitches.
