Article Summary
If the yarn is intact, you may be able to ease a pulled loop back into the knit. Check for broken yarn or dropped stitches before using a hook.
Check Whether the Yarn Has Broken
Leave a pulled sweater loop uncut. Lay the sweater flat. If the strand is intact, you may be able to ease the slack into the stitches beside it or draw the loop through to the inside. Pulling on the loop can distort more of the row.
Look at the knit from the side and follow the loop back toward the surface. In an intact snag, a strand leaves the row and returns to it. A pair of loose ends, a gap below the loop or stitches opening in a vertical run points to a different repair. Surface pills are little fiber balls. A structural loop is part of the yarn you can trace, which is why a sweater de-pilling method is unsuitable for it.
Ribbing gives you a useful landmark. On the Spring Inspiration polo, a break in a vertical rib would be easier to locate by tracing the same line from the hem.
Ease Slack Back Into the Neighboring Stitches
For a small loop on an otherwise intact knit, keep the sweater flat and work near the base of the loop. Use a blunt needle to lift a little of the adjoining stitch on one side. Follow the row outward a few stitches, moving only a little slack at each step. Repeat on the other side if it helps. The aim is for the loop to get smaller while the neighboring stitches become more even.
Pause after each pass. Stop if the row starts to pull out of shape or the yarn starts to fray where the needle touches it. The Woolmark sweater-care guide describes using a blunt tool for a snag.
Move an Intact Loop to the Inside if It Still Sticks Out
For a visible loop that stays raised after gentle adjustment, open the sweater so you can reach the inside directly behind it. From that side, guide a small snag hook through the existing space beside the base of the loop. Catch the loose loop and draw it to the inside. Keep the body of the sweater supported and avoid hooking a strand from the next stitch. The illustrated iFixit repair shows a hook catching the protruding yarn.
Turn the sweater back to the front. The fabric should lie flatter and the row should still be continuous. Leave the loop uncut on the inside. Stop if the hook needs force or a hole opens as the yarn moves.
Get Help With a Hole or a Run
A broken strand or a run needs the stitches secured or rebuilt. Set the sweater flat and keep the loose area away from jewelry and fasteners until it can be repaired. Send a close photo of the opening and a wider view showing the row, cuff or seam. A repairer may need to see both faces to judge whether the yarn is broken or merely displaced.
Keep the Loose Yarn for the Repairer
Take a picture before trying a second repair. If the first attempt pulled several stitches out of line, tell the repairer which direction you moved the yarn.
About Firelady Fur · MODERN FUR · STYLE MUSES
If a bag buckle or bracelet keeps catching in the same place, try moving it before wearing the sweater again. When you replace a knit that repeatedly snags on your usual accessories, compare how open the stitches are in the sweater collection.
