Beginner Knitter- Errors in most projects

[augustpurl]

I have been knitting for about 9 months. It really helps calm me and give relief for stressful days. Every project that I work on I make an error! I rip it out and start over on average about 3-5 times. Is this normal at my stage of knitting. Or should I find a new hobby?

[Ingrid]

I learned to knit during the Kennedy administration (I was a wee girl, of course ) and I still make mistakes. I usually find them soon enough to correct, but not always.

You're knitting for the right reasons--stick with it and never demand perfection.

[Antares]

Goodness! Don't be so hard on yourself!

If you demand perfection in all areas of life, you're going to make yourself miserable.

If you're happy with your finished project (warts and all) then don't worry about it. Plus, knitting is often just as much about the process as it is about the finished object. Enjoy the process, learn from your mistakes, and treasure the outcome. It's all good! (And pssssttt. . . . nobody's going to arrest you because you don't have a perfectly knitted sweater or hat or whatever.)

[augustpurl]

"Perfection" you are right. Maybe I have been reviewing too many advanced knitting blogs that show knitters working on their projects and the end resort is a perfect garment.

Thank you for not allowing me to quit, because I got a hugh amount of yarn that I need to start on christmas gifts with. I will keep my projects simple for now. Dish Clothes and several general scarves.

[suzeeq]

Yes it's normal to make mistakes and it can be very frustrating to take out your project and start over several times. Most errors can be fixed some way or another and you might be seeing something that no one else will. Put down your work and stand back about 5 or 6 feet - chances are you won't be able to see the mistake even though you know it's there. While working on a project we tend to get so focused on the individual stitches that a mistake will look more obvious than it actually is when you look at the whole piece.

If it's a dropped stitch or you knit a stitch instead of purled it, or added one by mistake, you can fix that. Take a look at the videos on the Tips page under Fixing Mistakes. That'll help you learn how to fix them, which is also part of learning to knit.

[Ingrid]

Maybe I have been reviewing too many advanced knitting blogs that show knitters working on their projects and the end resort is a perfect garment.

Wanna bet?

[suzeeq]

Add to that... the pictures you see of finished items are usually washed or blocked and that can improve them a lot. It helps even out the stitches because even experienced knitters don't have perfectly even stitches all the time.

[megsue7]

I've been knitting for 10 years, and am an eternal beginner because I only do 1 project a year (or every other), usually in winter, so I know what you're saying about enjoying the process, but also lots of mistakes being involved.

This year I learned about a wonderful thing- the lifeline! If you tend to make a lot of mistakes and do a lot of frogging (ripping out), it saves tons of time and frustration, because you only need to undo a small amount.

I prefer to use a thin, slippery thread so it doesn't pull at the existing knitting, which I've had problems with when using wool yarn, especially thick.

Below is a video link for you about lifelines; there are many others online, but this is one of the simplest and clearest demos. Hope it's helpful!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzpn9jyG5bE

[augustpurl]

Thank you for sharing the video and information about the lifeline. I will be using this idea going forward. This is great tip!

Thank you again!

[salmonmac]

Mistakes are a part of knitting. The trick is to catch them sooner rather than later and you can do that by looking over the last few knit rows as you go along. Take a look at the videos for fixing mistakes which have some great tips in them. And welcome to the club. It sounds like your becoming a real knitter!