slipping a stitch to unravel and then pick up again

Hello!!~~ I am inquiring about a pattern for a felted tote that calls for a stitch to be slipped off the needed and unraveled down to a marked stitch. Then it wants me to latch the stitch back up taking two strands at a time. It seems like if I do that, the entire bag will fall apart!!! I’m too nervous to unravel one stitch in the middle of all that work. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!!!

Welcome to the forum!
It can be nerve-wracking but this will work. Mark the stitch that you are going to ravel down to first. You can place a pin into that stitch and the stitch below to secure it so it won’t ladder down any further. Then you can ravel down to the marked stitch with confidence.
What is the name of your pattern? Sound intriguing.

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Hello
Some laddering patterns are created by increasing a single stitch into 2 stitches and the new stitch is the one laddered down, which means it cannot ladder further than the place where it was created. Maybe this is done in your pattern? Is there a placenh3ere this stitch is created?
If not, so long as you have a detachable stitch marker in the stitch at th3 Place where you ladder down to, it won’t travel further. Then you pick it up and work it up the ladder as the pattern says. It will create holes which will make the bag more open and stretchy.

Posted at the same time as salmonmac. Double reassurance!

Thank you for your help!!! The pattern is called “The Sheep Tote” by fiber trends, Inc. It’s a felted tote, so it’s very big right now. I am casting off at the top of the tote, and that is where the instructions call to slip a marked stitch corner stitch off the needle and unravel it down to, but not including, the lower marked stitch. It just seems so strange to unravel in that direction . I’m used to un-knitting (usually mistake- based, haha!!~~), but not down to the start of the pattern. The goal is to have the corners look slightly pulled up when all is said and done.

Maybe this one:


It sounds like a clever way to help shape the bag. Perhaps learned from the designer’s experience. Once the end stitch is secured you’ll be fine and then you start latching up. Keep looking to the wrong side to make sure you pick up all the stitches. (I’ve learned this from my experiene too).

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What a great bag! I think your question is resolved so I’ll ask a related one. Would doing a knit below in the column produce the same results? I’m thinking it would be done ever other row/round. Or borrow from brioche and do a yo sl then work them together on the next row/round? Just curious. I could say asking for a friend. :wink:

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Yes!!! That is the bag indeed:):). I will do as you suggest and see how it goes!!! Thanks :blush: so much for all the help. I don’t really feeling like wasting all that knitting time by making a huge mistake:):slight_smile:

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Yes, knit one below every other round is the same idea. Maybe not as much fun as a deliberate ladder but very clever, GG!

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Thanks so much for the info and confirmation of what I suspected was a hare brained thought. I’m sleep deprived, about 2 hrs. last night, so I wasn’t sure my question would even make sense. This is something I’ve meant to try for a long time. I think I’ll give the brioche yo, sl thing a try; I’m pretty sure that’s effectively the same result. However, you’re right about deliberately making a ladder. Love that point! I do like multiple ways to achieve the desired result. As for clever, I’m not sure. I’m the little kid that says, “My way!” :rofl:

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I hope we get to see your bag. We love photos! and I’m not above begging for them. :wink: In case you’d like to know, salmonmac has helped many of us learn to knit and then knit better. She became one of my teachers about twelve years ago.

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Yes, brioche will work the same way. Slip one, yo and on the next row, k2tog. I hope you make one of these bags, too.

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Wow you great knitters !!! Thank you for all the advice. I will admit that some of it is over my head (aka I don t know what brioche is :speak_no_evil: so will have to research that one!!!) and I thank you for taking the time to help me figure it out. I think I will do as you have taught, Salmonmac teacher :face_with_hand_over_mouth:) and see what happens. May take me a bit and I will certainly share some photos when all is done :white_check_mark::):). Thank you for helping me stay motivated. This bag sat on a shelf 1/2 done for the last six months (I broke my hand and then it became summer and too busy to knit) :joy: now I will finish!!!

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Have fun with it. It’s a great looking bag.

I’m so glad your hand has healed. Knitting is good but a broken hand kind of messes everything up.