# Throw me a lifeline would ya?!



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Let's talk lifelines, please. Who uses them? I love MamaJ's idea of using the cable from and interchangeable set as her lifeline. I think I will do that. 

For those of your who may not know what I'm talking about. A lifeline is a piece of thread or something that you insert into stitches, say just after the ribbing, before you begin a complicated pattern, such as lace or maybe a fisherman's sweater. It is used I case you make a mistake and need to rip back. This allows you to rip to this spot and easily pick up stitches.

I'm knitting my first real piece of lace. Maybe those socks count but this is much bigger and much more airy. The yarn I'm using is a 100%kid mohair so there is no give and the ways the yarn holds the stitches is interesting. And the yarn is extremely slippery. So, me dropping stitches is going to happen. In fact I've ripped out a few times already  I need a life line. I think I'll try MamaJ's idea. 

I found this video Using a "lifeline" | KnittingHelp.com which is good, so I thought I'd share it.

I do have a question for those of you who use a lifeline. Do you move your lifeline as you work?


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

I've never used one, but if I were working with kid mohair I probably would - that stuff doesn't frog all that well and it's hard to see your stitches.

You do need to move it as you work ... the basic rule being what I always called the "cuss factor". If you'd cuss if you had to rip back three repeats, but you wouldn't cuss if you had to rip back one, then you move it every repeat. If three repeats aren't so bad, but five would be #*(&$(& awful then it's every three. 

I've also heard of dental floss being used for lifelines as it is easy to thread through the stitches.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

In that video, I think it was, someone suggested threading dental floss through the hole in and interchangeable needles and knit it along with the regular yarn. I'm thinking MamaJ's idea will work well. I can knit with the cable and then leave it in place and use another cable to keep knitting.

I like your cuss factor idea. I think I'm a one repeat type of person.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

"Cuss factor" was key to the way we did software design: if the user would curse, it was a problem (too many warnings, not enough warnings, that kind of thing). 

It applies to so many things. 

The spare cable thing just rocks. You just leave the cable and start again with a different cable. That's so very clever.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I was knitting a very simpl scarf....and had to frog it several times. Not from dropping stitches, but from not following the 1 row pattern properly. I'm a beginner - it's allowed. I think I am three stitch cusser. I read about a life line and tried it. IT was AMAZING! No more frogginf - or at least, not very far. I started out with tapestry needle. Then moved to a metal one. They were just too big so I tried an embroidery needle with embroidery floss. I have tons of that stuff around. The sharp needle was too easy to put through the stitches rather than in them. A heavy cross stitch needle worked perfectly. 

I think what you use will change with what size yarn you are knitting. A thin thread will allow the stitches to be shortened too much with frogging to get a size 8 needle in them.


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

Good thing you explained yourself a bit.

Here I was, thinking that you were drowning in fiber, someplace, and I was scrambling looking for something heavy to tie onto my foot before I jumped in to drown with you.


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

Im a sucker for complicated lace knitting. Working on a shawl right now that is wonderful, but with 468 stitches right now and growing, Id kill myself if I had to frog to much.
I'm a lifeline kinda gal. I do the dental floss in the hole of my interchangeable every 5 rows. I don't move them. Just keep adding them til I'm done. I put them in on purl rows so they don't get involved with the pattern row. Usually the knit side only.
Then before I bind off, I give the piece a good looking over, and if there are no errors, I bind off amd slip the floss lines out.
Mind you, I do a lot with lace weight yarn, the trick is to make sure you don't purl the floss into the stitch, your just letting it get carried along, not using it as you do the yarn.


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

I don't even want to know what needle size you're using. I really don't. :hand:


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

:hysterical:Size 3's!:hysterical:
Also the cable length is 60"s. It's not bad at all.....


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

Oh, I don't mind 60 inches...... I have several in that length...... #17s....#19s. 
I'm working up the patience to start in on a long sweater coat, with big, fluffy, full length lapel and maybe some cabling..... 
I'm thinking that will test my needle selection....and would handily run me out of any of several colors of yarn. I'm thinking something along the lines of ten or twelve pounds. :sing:


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

What I do is rip back almost to the right row. Then, I insert the needle into the correct row and pull out the last row bit by bit, after I've got the stitches I want.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Maura said:


> What I do is rip back almost to the right row. Then, I insert the needle into the correct row and pull out the last row bit by bit, after I've got the stitches I want.


That is what I do too. 
I will even put a marker where the error is before ripping back to be sure I dont get too carried away.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Great ideas. I think I'll use the cable to begin with, get past the first repeat and see how that goes. Then I may try the dental floss, lord knows I have plenty of it around here.

FR I am drowning in fibers. But as our sign on the door of the forum says, "Death by fibers, it's such a comfy way to go" or something similar. You are always welcome to join me. I'm sure I have more than I will ever be able to use in my lifetime.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

I wish I had a set of size 17 cable right now. There is a baby bunting pattern I want to do that calls for size 17 straight & 17 cable needles. There are no size 17 cables at Walmart (the only place in a 60 mile radius to get knitting items). I'm too cheap to purchase online and pay for shipping.

I've thought about trying to remove the ends of my extra set of 17 straights and see if I can tape on some sort of tubing to act as a cable.


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## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

Let me know how the cable works for you..that was born out of frustration. The fuzz factor of that yarn made frogging and threading a lifeline a nightmare. 

I found an amazing shawl i want to do, it will require a lifeline for sure. I will post on it when i get off work sunday.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Thank You!!!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I'm feeling really stupid right now. I took my extra cable to work and tried to use it as a lifeline. But how the heck do I do that  Right now I have a piece of waste yarn in there and needed it already :grumble: Maybe it was how I was doing it. Here is what I did. I had my last row of ribbng on the needles (circular). I was figuring I could just unscrew the tips, leave that cable in place and use the other cable with tips as my working needle. Well you can't do it like you can with a piece of waste yarn, or if you can I'm too stupid to figure it out. I tried believe me :grump: 

Any hints or tips you all can give me? What I ended up doing was to knit the next row and then thread the waste yarn through the stitches on the needle.

Help!


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

Just use a size 19 needle, about ten strands of yarn, and forget about it. :thumb:


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

I imagined that you would screw on a tiny tip and run it through as though the last row of knitting you did, under the existing cable. 

The cable stays in the knitting, then you just keep going with the original circ.

But I'm guessing here.


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

Try the dental floss. Just thread the floss through the hole in the connection. Then, when you get to the end of the row, cut it a few inches longer on either side.:goodjob:


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## Ana Bluebird (Dec 8, 2002)

All this is a good help to me---never used a life-line, but love the idea. When I get these socks and this sweater done, I'm going to do a lace-scarf---I will need the life-line---all my other lace work (except for the socks) was terrible. Thanks for the thread.


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