Placing Stitches on Hold

Many knitting patterns call for the knitter to “place stitches on hold.” This means that those stitches won’t be worked and instead held in place while the remaining stitches on the project are knit. There are several different ways that you can place stitches on hold, and in this video, Jen Lucas will review some of the common ways you can execute this instruction in your knitting project.

Jen uses the example of a fingerless mitt to show some different ways to place stitches on hold. She notes that this technique is used on all sorts of knitting projects, including mitts, mittens, sweaters, and more. The first method for holding stitches that’s demonstrated in the video is using a stitch holder. The stitch holder looks like a big safety pin without the coil, and the stitches can easily be slipped onto it to hold them in place. These notions come in a variety of lengths, so choose the one that’s best for your project.

Double-pointed needles (or DPNs) can also be used for placing stitches on hold. When using a double-pointed needle, you’ll ideally want to use one that is the same size as the knitting needle for your project. Similar to a DPN, you can also use the cord of an interchangeable knitting needle set, which can be useful as it is obviously more flexible than a knitting needle.

Other tools that Jen mentions for placing stitches on hold are locking stitch markers and waste yarn. No matter what you use for holding stitches, make sure that they are secure by using point protectors, checking to make sure the stitch marker or holder is closed into place, or tying a knot in the waste yarn. That way, you don’t have to worry about dropping any of those stitches while they are on hold waiting to be knit at a later time.

What method do you use to place your stitches on hold? Let us know in the comments!