When Should You Restart a Knitting Project?

As knitters we do everything we can to keep from having to start over.

We use lifelines, learn to fix mistakes, and read over patterns with a magnifying glass, just to make sure we’re doing it EXACTLY right.

But despite our best efforts, sometimes things just don’t work out the way we hoped.

So how do we know if it’s time to frog the whole thing?

We’re going to walk through three scenarios where it might be time to begin again.

Scenario 1: You can’t stand the yarn

Look, its not your fault.

The yarn looked real purdy on the shelf, but then when you got it home it turned into something else.

The color didn’t look quite the way you expected.

It wasn’t quite as soft as you first thought.

Maybe that bouquet of colorful variegation ended up creating a messy pool in your fabric.

How were you supposed to know the yarn lied?

It was acting all sweet and innocent, begging you to take it home with you.

Sometimes, the yarn just isn’t working out, and it’s time to sub it out for something that brings you joy.

Scenario 2: You don’t like the pattern

Ok, sure, you liked the pattern before you downloaded it.

The pictures were lovely and you dreamed of being just as happy wearing the finished project as the person in the photo.

Then you started to realize something wasn’t right.

It could be the pattern had a few too many mistakes.

It could be that it was a lot more complicated than you thought.

Or it could be that it’s super boring to knit.

But your time is precious and you should spend it enjoying what you’re knitting.

Wind that yarn back up and find a project you actually like knitting.

Scenario 3: You’ve got a knitting emergency

It happens.

Everything is going fine and you’re knitting along without any issues.

Then you notice something off.

And it dawns on you that you’ve been knitting a whole section of the pattern wrong…

which has been going on for 30 rows. 😱

Maybe you finished a sleeve only to realize it’s not going to fit properly unless you redo all of the shaping.

Perhaps you finally start sewing everything together, and it’s clear things are not lining up the way they should.

Do you commit the project to the UFO pile?

Or do you take the Fearless Knitter approach and embrace your mistakes, so you can learn from them while you go about fixing them?

You Probably Don’t Need to Start Over

A while back one of our Yarnist Society members posted about a problem she encountered.

She was trying to fix an issue with some stitches and in the process accidentally undid the cast on edge.

The situation was so frustrating that she wanted to throw the whole project into the trash!

But you know what?

Our amazing community members rallied around her.

They not only encouraged her not to give up, they gave her some great tips on how to address the situation…

…without starting the whole thing over.

Sometimes, you just need another set of eyes on a problem to help you come up with a creative solution.

And the knowledge that you don’t have to do it alone. 😊

Conclusion

So there you have it.

Sometimes we need to start over, and that’s totally ok. It’s not easy, and we may not want to, but it’s not the end of the world.

We knit, in part, because we love the PROCESS, and fixing mistakes is part of that.

And sometimes there’s no need to start over at all. You might just need a little help approaching a problem from a different direction.