Rule # 1 When you are almost done with the leg of your first sock do not attempt to finish the last few rounds in a darkened room while watching the World Series. This is a particularly bad idea if most of the sock has been knit on a well-lit train in broad daylight or while sitting directly under a lamp. Dark yarn + a darkened room = BIG potential for mistakes.
Rule # 2 If you persist in such foolishness, when you make a mistake, immediately put the sock down and come back to it when you are not aggravated with yourself for ignoring Rule #1. Indeed, everyone would be better served if you did something else, like take pictures of your cat.
Rule # 3 If you ignore Rule #2, and start dropping stitches as you tink back to fix the mistake, do not try to pick up the stitches with a big honking crochet hook. You need a small crochet hook to pick those tiny little stitches.
Rule # 4 Small crochet hooks are widely availabe for a reasonable price.
Rule # 5 A paper clip is NOT a good substitution for a small crochet hook.
Rule # 6 While bamboo needles are not particularly slippery, if you fling your sock down in frustration because the big honking crochet hook/paper clip combo is not effectively helping you to pick up stitches and is instead causing more stitches to be dropped, a needle may slip out.
Rule # 7 If one or more needles slip out of your sock, you can use a needle and dental floss to pick up all the stitches until you have the patience to put them back on the needles.
Rule # 8 If you take your sock with the stitches on the dental floss and your newly purchased tiny crochet hook to your local knitting group and then struggle with putting all the stitches back on the needles, someone may gently suggest that you just buy socks in the future.
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