I first saw this tip on page 141 of Maggie Righetti’s Sweater Design in Plain English (New York: St. Martin’s, 1990).
It’s also on TechKnitter’s blog.
The genius of these methods is that they will survive whatever technique you use for blocking the swatch.
Ribbing, garter stitch, and seed stitch (and a whole host of other knitted fabrics) are reversible: they look the same on both sides.
But suppose you have to do something (shaping, for example) only when working right-side rows. What do you do if you lose track of whether you’re working a right-side or wrong-side row? How can you tell where you are?
If you come to a yarnover that shouldn’t be there, just drop it off the needle.
Really.
It’s hard to believe, but the excess yarn will, as you work the next several rows, mysteriously move itself into the surrounding stitches all on its own.
If you have to rip, whether one row or (shivers) a hundred rows, try picking up the live stitches on a smaller needle than the one you’re using for the project.
If you’re working with a size 5 needle, then theoretically, you should be able to pick up the live stitches with that same size 5 needle after you’ve ripped. Theoretically.
If you need to rip out more than one row, it’s easy to go too far.
Whether you’re working on DPNs, circs, or a Magic Loop, don’t pull out all the needles. Pull out just one, rip back the necessary number of rows, and pick up the live stitches.