Sometimes you know when something is wrong.
Over the winter I crocheted most of a sweater. All the main pieces were done, it just needed the neck working up and sewing together. But I didn’t do it. It sat in my work basket for months whilst I made up excuses for not finishing it.
nice wool, shame about the pattern
Finally, over the weekend, I got it out of the basket and looked at it. And admitted that I really didn’t like the shape – too long and skinny. In fact the pattern was for a man’s sweater and I should have taken this into account and adjusted it, but I didn’t, I followed the pattern. I should also have stopped working on it when I realised my tension was wrong and it was not as wide as it should have been for the number of stitches. For some reason, I pretended this wouldn’t matter as I worked and considered adding side panels… despite the fact that this would change the way the arms would have to be attached.. and their length… and their shape. And even knowing this, I followed the pattern for the arms too, so they weren’t going to work if I made the body wider. Is it any wonder that I couldn’t bring myself to finish it off?
back to balls
On Saturday, however, I bit the bullet. I love the yarn and hate the way the pattern turned out. The only thing to do in such circumstances is to frog (unravel it for those of you who don’t do yarny stuff… because you “rip-it, rip-it”). So, with much sneezing (it had got dusty from all that sitting around), I converted it back into balls. I have plenty of yarn, so now I’m going to have fun choosing another pattern to work it up into… probably a cardigan or jacket. I have to admit that this is one of the reasons I like knitting and crochet better than sewing – the work can be completely dismantled and the raw material used again in its entirety if you don’t like the finished item or if it doesn’t fit.
-oOo-
This is another in my series of ‘honest’ posts, about things that don’t work or aren’t perfect. You can read my first one (about gardening) here. This is the anti-Instagram!
The Snail of Happiness 
Patience
/ July 18, 2017I have a shawl I just finished that I made from a blanket I was *almost* finished with but couldn’t complete because I just… didn’t like it. But I love the yarn. Frogging is a necessary evil when we keep going with projects we know aren’t right.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 18, 2017I just wish I’d bitten the bullet when I first knew it wasn’t right… ah well, it’s done now.
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Patience
/ July 18, 2017It happens to everyone. ^_^ I just wrote a piece about it.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 18, 2017I’ve been over to look… and realised who you were – I recognised the square straight away.
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coppicelearner
/ July 18, 2017Me too! Been there, done that!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 18, 2017It doesn’t happen often and fortunately this wool came apart without issue. I’m going to enjoy turning it into something else.
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Nice Piece of Work
/ July 18, 2017Oh I have laughed and laughed at this!!!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 18, 2017Well at least it cheered someone up! I felt very glum initially, but now it’s done I’m looking forward to a new creation.
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Nice Piece of Work
/ July 18, 2017You do realise that you do ‘funny’ very well?! 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 18, 2017I aim to please… something good should come of everything!
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katechiconi
/ July 18, 2017Frogs are wonderful things. It just takes a kiss to turn them into something wonderful, so bravo for steeling yourself for the ripit, ripit part. Now look! New yarn!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 18, 2017I’m looking forward to pattern hunting.
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katechiconi
/ July 18, 2017🙂
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craftycreeky
/ July 18, 2017Well done for taking the bull (bullfrog maybe??) by the horns 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 18, 2017I knew it had to be done… it just took ages to find the resolve!
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Annie
/ July 18, 2017Frogging – love it. 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 18, 2017Much more fun than unravelling!
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nanacathy2
/ July 18, 2017Well done on biting the bullet. For sure you will find a lovely new pattern.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 18, 2017I had high hopes for the original one, but it was clearly not meant to be.
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tialys
/ July 18, 2017I took a top down knitted cardigan round to my friend’s house a couple of weeks ago to ask her to help me frog it. The yarn is good stuff but there’s something amiss with the cardigan. It’s cropped to wear over a summer dress – fine! However, the yarn is quite thick – which doesn’t seem very summery. Also, there are darts. These are weird in a knitted garment in my opinion. I knew I would never wear it. Anyway, hours later, my friend realised that it was a top down cardigan and we’d been trying to frog it from the wrong end. I had told her it was a top down pattern but my French is obviously not as good as I thought it was 😦 Now also looking for a new pattern for a lovely mustard coloured wool rich yarn. We have fun don’t we?
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 18, 2017Well, at least I started frogging in the right direction, so that’s something. I’ve never worked a piece top-down, although Jude at my LYS swears by it as a technique when she’s not sure she will have enough yarn to do a full-length version of the thing she’s knitting… makes sense.
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thecontentedcrafter
/ July 18, 2017What is this gene that keeps us working on when we know it isn’t working out? I have three items sitting alone and unloved in the depths of a basket waiting to be resurrected – the trouble is I went ahead and sewed them all up despite knowing they weren’t right……… Duh!!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 18, 2017Oh, I’m glad I’d not done any sewing, that would have been painful. We are going to have to learn to let go as soon as it becomes clear a piece is not right… although how we gain that skill, I don’t know.
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thecontentedcrafter
/ July 18, 2017It’s a good challenge though …..
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 19, 2017Yes, but I’m happy to avoid those where possible!
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itwasjudith
/ July 18, 2017I may be soon be in the same place… oh well, better frogging and re-using the precious yarn than let it sit and collect dust?
well done!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 18, 2017Absolutely. I noticed mention of possibly frogging your latest creation in your recent post. I hope you too find a better pattern for that beautiful yarn you are working with.
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itwasjudith
/ July 18, 2017thank you! I’m still not sure but it seems that frogging may be likely..
Let’s hope we both find the right candidate for the yarn 🙂
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uphilldowndale
/ July 18, 2017We are going to see the Divine Comedy perform next month, if they play this track I’ll think of you and your jumper!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 18, 2017Brilliant! I saw them in Cardiff many years ago, I didn’t know they were still touring.
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claire
/ July 18, 2017oh this reminds me of a black wool jumper I had asked my nan to knit for me as a teenager. I had it on like twice. It was just too bulky, I felt like a big black potato. I finally bit the bullet 15 years later, apologized and told my grandma that I would like to do something else with the wool. But I did take care of the frogging and washing. Next step is a brainstorming to find something that really works with this thick black wool. Any ideas?
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 19, 2017Do you crochet? I made a lovely snuggly half granny square shawl with some chunky wool a while ago and I use it loads in the winter. https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2013/12/08/neptunes-shawl/
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Claire
/ July 19, 2017Oh thank you Jan for the tip and link, I will check this out. Maybe alternated with another wool color, to make the pattern stand out. My chunky wool is jet black (and really thick, it seems twice as thick as the blue one you used on the Neptune shawl).
I just started to crochet, almost finished rag rug, but I will learn as I go 🙂
Thank you!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 19, 2017The lovely thing a about that shawl is that it works no matter how think the yarn. If you choose a colour that you love, the back should set it off beautifully.
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Claire
/ July 19, 2017yay, this sounds great. Thanks for your help! cheers from sunny Switzerland
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San
/ July 18, 2017Big advocate of frogging!! That is the wonder of knitting or crochet. Dealing with a sewing fail however is not pretty 😜
Happy pattern choosing and yay for #anti-Instagram x
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 19, 2017The other trouble with sewing is that, unlike knitting and crochet, I’m no good at adapting patterns.
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painterwrite
/ July 19, 2017Well, it’s a lovely color of yarn and one day (like the Frog Prince) it will find it’s true match.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 19, 2017I hope so. The colour is nicer in real life than in the pictures, which seem to take away the richness.
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painterwrite
/ July 19, 2017Wow, it must be a really great color then!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 19, 2017it is!
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Born To Organize
/ July 21, 2017As I’m reading through all the comments, it seems this is quite common. Good for your for frogging the yarn and starting over. It will be fabulous the next go around. That color is gorgeous.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 21, 2017I think I’ve found a pattern I like now… it’s very different from the original project, which is almost certainly a good thing!
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crawcraftsbeasties
/ July 26, 2017Oh, we’ve all been there! At least I now know I’m not the only one who keeps pressing on with a troublesome knit, despite all the warning signs. But as you say, a knitted project lends itself so much better to the “rip it up and start again” treatment than a sewn one! Good luck turning this yarn into something your really love 😀
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 26, 2017I think I’ve found a knitting pattern… this time I’m going to do something almost unheard of and make a swatch!
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crawcraftsbeasties
/ July 26, 2017Shock! Horror! 😱 You know, I should really consider doing that myself the odd time! 😀
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 26, 2017I’m feeling a bit sensitive about this particular yarn after one failure.
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crawcraftsbeasties
/ July 28, 2017Understandable! But that extra vigilance will help you make something even better this time around… Good luck!
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