One of the things we hear most often at the shop is, "I'm afraid I'll make a mistake.”
We always smile when we hear that because the truth is simple: everyone makes mistakes in knitting. Everyone. Even us.
Doris and I (Julie) have spent countless hours knitting over the years, and we still make mistakes regularly. We claim that we are so good at fixing mistakes because we are so good at making them. We miss a stitch marker, forget a decrease, misread a pattern, knit an entire section only to realize we should have been purling, or discover that somehow we've ended up with the wrong stitch count. Even after we have counted, and counted, and then counted some more. Sometimes we catch our mistakes right away. Sometimes we don't notice until we're several rows—or several inches—past them. We will either make adjustments and keep going or do the dreaded ripping of stitches. After all, when we spend as long as we do on our projects what’s an extra few hours to make sure it’s done correctly?
While it can be frustrating in the moment, we've learned that mistakes are often our best teachers.
Many of the things we know today didn't come from getting everything right the first time. They came from figuring out what went wrong. We've learned how to read our knitting because we had to find mistakes. We've learned how to fix dropped stitches because we've dropped ourselves plenty. We've learned when to tink back, when to frog, and when a mistake is small enough that only we will ever notice.
Knitting has a way of teaching patience, flexibility, and problem-solving. I had a customer at the store ask me once, “What is the one tool you suggest every new knitter have?” My answer was quick and simple: “Patience.” Sometimes those lessons arrive disguised as a missed cable crossing or an accidentally twisted stitch. No matter how many times we tell ourselves to make sure our work isn’t twisted when joining in the round…our stitches still have a way of not cooperating.
We all must remember that mistakes are not a sign that you're bad at knitting or crocheting. In fact, mistakes are usually a sign that you're learning, trying something new, or challenging yourself. If you never make mistakes, you're probably not stretching your skills.
Some of our favorite projects have imperfections hidden inside them. A sweater that required ripping out a sleeve. A shawl that had to be restarted. A hat that ended up too tight because I was learning cables and obsessed with pulling them tight… that definitely taught me a lot. At the time, it felt like a disaster. Placed in a pile to be ripped and knit again. Looking back, all those moments became valuable learning experiences that made us better knitters.
That's one of the reasons we're here. We make plenty of mistakes ourselves, and whenever possible, we'd like to help our customers avoid some of the more frustrating ones. Whether it's helping with yarn substitutions, explaining a confusing pattern instruction, checking gauge, or rescuing a dropped stitch, we're always happy to share what we've learned—often the hard way.
So if you're working on a project and something doesn't seem right, don't be discouraged. Mistakes happen to every knitter, from beginners to experts. They are part of the process, part of the learning, and sometimes part of the story behind a finished project.
The next time you find an unexpected stitch or discover that you've knit three rows past where you should have turned your work, remember: Doris and I have probably done the same thing.
More than once.
