Ok I wasn’t sure what to post as a knitting fail. Tbh, there’ve been a lot, because that’s how you learn!
There was the lace shawl I made after just a month of learning to knit, out of completely unsuitable cotton yarn that did the finished piece no favours at all (never mind all the actual knitting mistakes I made, too).
There was the summer top I frantically knitted for a holiday and finished literally in the car on the way to the airport, only to find out it was about three sizes too small because I’m nothing if not optimistic.
But these were forgivable, for I was just a newbie.
Not so with the time I decided to jump on the trend of everyone knitting the Find Your Fade shawl. I went through the stash, picked out a combo of yarns that could definitely not be described as a “fade” but I quite liked anyway, and got to work.
Unfortunately I’m crap at knitting shawls, and it took a year to get through the first two sections. So I’ve now been knitting in general for about 7 years, and on this specifically for 1.
THEN, and only then, I go to start the third colour and realise I’ve just sort of…completely mixed and matched yarn weights and this was never going to work? Honestly no idea how it never occurred to me until that point.
So, long story short, absolute fail, frogged it and was very salty about it. This may or may not have been when I decided a ban on shawl knitting was in order, a ban which has served me well.
I found a sweater pattern I liked on Ravelry and it said I had yarn in my stash that would work. I thought perfect! and started my swatch without checking exactly how much of the yarn I had. I think I figured since the pattern says how much yarn is needed and Ravelry said here’s some yarn you already have that works, then it meant I had enough.
You can guess what happened. I did not, in fact, have enough yarn. I got through the yoke and to where I divided for the sleeves. And then I realized I’d already used up 2/3 of the yarn!
Oh no, gutting! Don’t leave us hanging, did you figure out a way to rescue the project?
I wish but no lol. I didn’t have any other colors in that weight that would’ve looked good. It also seemed to jinx me for making myself sweaters, as I’ve tried 2 other times (and with different patterns) and haven’t yet finished one. When I make sweaters for other people I finish them no problem, but sweaters for myself are my nemesis bird.
Oh well, I suppose the silver lining is that our craft doesn’t waste the materials so we can just use them for something else.
It’s been two and a half years of banning myself from knitting shawls and in January I just decided to allow myself to try one for a very specific purpose. Funnily enough, it’s using the grey that was rescued from this failed project and has just been sitting there since! Fingers crossed things go a bit better this time :D
You can do it!
I’ve learned new things with every attempt. I haven’t frogged my 3rd sweater yet. I’m working on other things while I decide what to do.
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