How to pick up stitches along an edge

Picking up stitches creates a new row of live stitches along an existing edge, so you can knit a border, neckband, button band, or collar directly onto the piece without sewing anything. Turns a raw edge into a finished one.

The common starting ratio for picking up stitches along a vertical stockinette edge is 3 stitches for every 4 rows, compensating for the difference between stitch width and row height. The motion is not the hard part. The tricky part is spacing: how many to pick up across a given length, and how to distribute them evenly.

Pick up vs pick up and knit

Patterns use both phrases, and they can mean slightly different things, though many knitters and designers use them interchangeably.

Pick up: lift an existing edge loop or strand onto the needle.

Pick up and knit: insert through the edge, wrap and pull through in a single knit motion. Creates and works the stitch simultaneously.

In practice, many patterns say “pick up” when they mean “pick up and knit.” If the pattern specifies a number, that’s how many stitches should be on your needle when you’re done.

Along a horizontal edge (cast-on or bind-off)

Simplest direction. Each stitch in the edge has a visible V. Insert the needle through the center of the V (under both legs), wrap, pull through. One stitch per stitch in the edge.

Ratio is usually 1:1. Eighty bound-off stitches, pick up 80 (or however many the pattern specifies). Sometimes the pattern asks for fewer, meaning you skip stitches at regular intervals.

Along a vertical edge (side of the fabric)

This is where spacing matters. Rows and stitches aren’t the same height. A typical stockinette gauge might be 5 stitches per inch horizontally but 7 rows per inch vertically. Picking up one stitch per row gives you more stitches per inch along the vertical edge than the horizontal, and the border puckers or flares.

The usual starting ratio for stockinette: 3 stitches for every 4 rows. Pick up in each of the first 3 rows, skip the 4th, repeat. Works for many gauges, but your specific numbers may need tweaking.

To figure out the exact ratio, divide stitch gauge by row gauge. If your gauge is 20 stitches and 28 rows per 4 inches, the ratio is 20/28 = 0.71. That’s roughly 7 stitches per 10 rows, or about 3 for every 4 (0.75, close enough). If you need to check your gauge first, start there.

If the pattern gives an exact pickup count, divide that by the edge length in inches for the rate. Then distribute: pick up at that rate, spacing skipped rows as evenly as you can.

Picking up along a slipped-stitch selvedge

If you slipped the first stitch of every row while knitting the piece, the side edge has a chain of paired strands instead of a strand per row. Pick up one stitch under each chain (the two strands that form one “V” of the chain). Because each chain represents two rows, the ratio becomes 1 picked-up stitch per 2 rows, which is too few for stockinette.

Two fixes: pick up the chain plus an extra stitch in the running strand between chains, alternating to hit roughly 3 per 4 rows. Or pick up one per chain and accept a slightly tighter border, which works for ribbing because ribbing pulls in anyway. Slipped-stitch selvedges make pickup faster and visually cleaner, just check the ratio against your border’s needs.

Picking up along a garter stitch edge

Garter edges have two visible bumps per ridge (one ridge = two rows). Pick up under each pair of strands at the edge of each ridge. Ratio is usually 1 stitch per ridge, which equals 1 per 2 rows. Garter-edge pickup tends to look tighter than stockinette and may need an extra picked-up stitch every few ridges to keep the border from pulling in.

Different ratios for different borders

The 3-for-4 ratio assumes a stockinette side edge and a border gauge close to the main fabric. Other edge and border combinations need different ratios.

Ribbing (k1p1 or k2p2): pulls in horizontally, so it can tolerate a slightly higher pickup count than stockinette. Follow the pattern if it gives a count, because neckband depth and needle size change the result.

Garter border: behaves close to stockinette, 3 for 4 is the safe default.

Seed stitch: similar to stockinette in width, 3 for 4 again.

I-cord edging: many patterns attach the i-cord to every other row, or use a pattern-specific rate. Follow the pattern here rather than forcing the 3-for-4 rule.

When in doubt and the pattern doesn’t say, swatch the border against a sample edge. Pick up a small test section, knit a few rows of the border, and see how it behaves. Better there than on the real neckline.

Along a curved edge (necklines)

Necklines combine horizontal edges (bound-off center), vertical edges (sides), and curved or diagonal edges (shaping). Each section has a different rate.

Bound-off stitches: 1 per stitch, same as horizontal.

Vertical sides: the 3-for-4 ratio (or whatever your gauge needs).

Diagonal shaping: somewhere between vertical and horizontal. Start near the pattern’s count, or use the diagonal edge itself as the guide and adjust after the first border row.

Corners where horizontal meets diagonal: pick up in the corner stitch itself if the edge wants to open there. This prevents the gap that’s the most common neckline pickup problem.

The pattern usually gives total stitch count for the pickup. Distribute across sections proportionally: count bound-off stitches across the front, rows along each side, allocate accordingly.

If the neckline looks wavy after the first row, too many stitches. If it pulls inward, too few. Adjusting by a few in either direction fixes most problems.

Where to insert the needle

One stitch in from the edge. Between the edge stitch and the second stitch. Cleanest result. The edge stitch forms a neat fold line and the border sits just inside rather than on top.

Through the edge stitch itself. Slightly bulkier but easier and more intuitive. Some patterns specify this.

For seamed edges, pick up between the seam stitch and the next stitch. Seam allowance hides behind the border.

Be consistent along the entire edge. Switching methods mid-edge creates visible inconsistency.

Distributing stitches evenly

The biggest source of uneven pickup is doing it by feel and ending up with too many at the start and too few at the end (or the reverse). A small amount of prep prevents the problem.

Divide the edge into equal segments with locking stitch markers or safety pins. For a long edge, mark halves, then quarters, then smaller sections if needed. Count within each section instead of trying to manage the whole pickup in one pass.

For necklines, mark the corners and section boundaries before starting. The corners are where errors compound.

Using a crochet hook

For very firm or tight edges, a crochet hook can pull loops through more easily than a knitting needle. Insert the hook through the edge, hook the yarn, pull a loop through. Transfer the loop to the knitting needle.

Some knitters use this method for the entire pickup row, especially for stiff cotton edges or tightly knit selvedges. Slightly slower than needle pickup, but easier on the hands and produces a more consistent result on stubborn edges.

Testing pickup with waste yarn

A trick for hesitant pickup: test the pickup row with a smooth waste yarn first. Count the stitches, check the spacing, then remove it and repeat with the project yarn once the rate is right. It lets you verify the count and distribution without fraying the real yarn from repeated handling.

Useful for sweaters where the pickup is around a fitted neckline and you want to be sure the count is right before continuing. Also useful when the edge is firm, fuzzy, or dark enough that redoing the real pickup would be annoying.

Common mistakes

Too many stitches. Border flares outward and looks wavy. Redo the pickup row with fewer. Better caught immediately than after several rows of border.

Too few stitches. Border pulls inward, creating puckers. Same fix: redo.

Uneven spacing. Stretched sections and bunched sections. Before picking up, divide the edge into equal segments (mark with pins) and pick up the same count in each.

Gaps at corners. Pick up from the very corner stitch and one stitch from each adjacent section. If a small hole persists, close it with a few stitches of yarn during finishing. The seaming guide covers closing techniques in more detail.

Twisted stitches. If the picked-up stitch sits with legs crossed, it’ll look different when knitted. Leading leg should sit in front of the needle, consistent with your knitting style.

Pickup edge visible from the right side. Usually means picking up too close to the edge or through the edge stitch when the pattern wanted one stitch in. Move one stitch deeper and the pickup ridge hides on the wrong side.

Picking up for steeks

After cutting a steek (a column of extra stitches in circular knitting that gets cut to create flat panels for cardigans), the raw edge needs to be stabilized. A picked-up band helps cover and secure the cut edge.

Pick up through the column of stitches just inside the cut (not through the raw edges themselves). The first row of the band traps the cut yarn ends behind the new stitches. After the band is knit, the cut ends are invisible from the right side and held permanently in place.

For non-feltable yarn (cotton, superwash), reinforce the steek with a row of crochet or machine sewing on each side before cutting. Sticky, non-superwash wool can often grip or felt enough to behave more securely. Cotton and superwash wool do not.

Common questions

What size needle for picking up? Use whatever the pattern specifies for the border, often one or two sizes smaller than the body needles. Smaller needles for ribbed borders produce a snugger, neater edge.

Right side facing for pickup? Usually. Pick up with the RS facing so the first border row is a WS row (purl in stockinette-based borders). This places the pickup ridge on the wrong side.

How many stitches for a button band? The pattern should say. If it doesn’t, use the stitch gauge of the border pattern times the edge length as a starting point, then adjust if it puckers or flares.

Why does my pickup row look uneven from the right side? Most often, inconsistent depth of insertion. Some stitches picked one stitch in, some through the edge. Re-pick after committing to one method.

Can I add length by picking up along a finished bound-off edge and knitting downward? Yes. Pick up along the bind-off as you would any horizontal edge (1 per stitch), then knit downward. The new section will read as a slightly different direction in the fabric because the stitches are upside down relative to the original. In plain stockinette or garter this can be subtle; in directional stitch patterns it may show.

My pickup count matches the pattern but the edge ripples. Why? The pattern may assume a different relationship between row gauge, stitch gauge, and edge length than your fabric has. Re-pick using your actual edge as the guide, then adjust the next border row’s stitch count if needed with an increase or decrease row.