A lifeline is a line to which a drowning or falling victim may cling to, instead of facing imminent death. In knitting, a lifeline is a piece of yarn or thread that runs through each and every stitch of one row. It’s a proper case of prevention being better than unravelling the entire project, in case of a massive goof-up.
Because stitches are live while working on a knitted piece, especially lace or brioche, there is ALWAYS a possibility of stitches getting dropped or me misreading the pattern or due to genuine confusion. The worst errors have occurred when I have been trying to fix previous errors, and then I fall into a spiral of doom and despair, and have to rip the whole project.
Putting in a lifeline has always helped. It is extra work, but saves a lot of heartache when I have to undo my large and complicated work. The black thread in the pink brioche scarf shows a typical lifeline.
To make a lifeline, I use a yarn needle and a contrasting piece of thin embroidery thread. Something that does not rub color off onto my work, and certainly something that is not too thick. I have seen some people use dental floss.
I usually knit to the point where I am satisfied with my work, and know for sure there are no errors. I then thread the yarn needle through each and every stitch that is live on the knitting needle. Once done, I remove the needle, let the thread stay in place and get on with my work.
Any time I know something is wrong, I remove all the live stitches from the knitting needles, and rip all work done like a frustrated maniac upto the lifeline. I then put the stitches that were protected by the lifeline back onto the knitting needles - cursing and blessing myself at the same time 🙂
Yarn from Lanas Gato Negro
Pattern by Mercedes Knits