Quick fix: The most common cause is knitting into the horizontal bar between two stitches instead of the stitch itself. Count back to find where the extra stitch appeared, then drop or tink it.
What you are seeing
Your stitch count is consistently higher than what you cast on. The edge stitches look ragged or loopy, and the knitted piece may be fanning out or getting noticeably wider row by row.
Why it happens
- Knitting into the bar between stitches — inserting the needle into the horizontal strand below the stitch rather than through the stitch loop itself. Very common in new knitters.
- Accidental yarn over at the start or end of a row — the yarn wraps over the needle as you turn the work, creating a phantom stitch.
- Yarn draped over the needle when setting work down — this looks like a stitch when you pick up again and can easily be worked by mistake.
- Working into the same stitch twice — going back into a stitch you already knitted.
Fix it now
- Lay your work flat and count carefully, marking every tenth stitch with a stitch marker.
- Look for a loop that has no corresponding stitch beneath it — this is usually the culprit.
- If the extra stitch is at the row start or end: it is likely a slipped yarn over — drop it off the needle without working it.
- If it is mid-row: tink (unknit) back to it and re-work that stitch correctly, inserting the needle cleanly through the stitch loop.
- Count again after fixing to confirm you are back to the correct number.
Prevent it next time
- Check that your needle tip goes cleanly through the stitch loop, not into the bar below it or between the yarn plies.
- Move yarn deliberately front or back when switching between knit and purl — never let it drift.
- Count stitches every 10–20 rows so mistakes surface early before they travel far.
- When setting work down, lay it so no yarn is draped over an exposed needle tip.