Un-knitting or tinking

Learn how to 'move backwards' throughout your knitting to fix mistakes. Possibly one of the most useful knitting skills to know.

Facts & handy tips

Un-knitting or tinking is a great skill for any knitter to have, possibly one of the most useful skills in fact. This technique allows you to move backwards a few stitches to fix a mistake or correct a stitch - which can happen to anyone. Oh and by the way, 'tinking' comes from the word 'knit' spelt backwards :)

Share the Love

Step By Step

1 un knitting

1.

Made a mistake but don't want to rip out your knitting? No problems, let us walk you through how to 'tinker' or un-knit - basically knit backwards until you're back to the stitch that you need to fix.

Find the stitch below the one just knitted on the right hand needle.

2 un knitting

2.

Insert the left needle into this stitch, from front to back. If you tug at your knitting slightly you should be able to easily insert the needle through this stitch.

3 un knitting

3.

Slide the right hand needle out of the stitch then gently pull the yarn out of the stitch. Your stitch should now have moved from the right to the left needle.

4 un knitting

4.

Continue this for as many stitches as needed, until you get back to your 'problem' stitch. We hope you found this tutorial helpful. Good luck!

This is how you do it

Follow WATG on and hashtag
your pics using #shareyourknits