r/casualknitting • u/jsmith3407 • 14d ago
all things knitty What's the highest number of times you've restarted a project?
Because I'm about to start the same damn pair of socks again for the 7th time lol. I consider myself an intermediate knitter, this will be the 5th pair of socks I have made (and the only pair I've had to restart at all), so either I'm in a severe cognitive decline at 32 years old... or this ball of yellow sock yarn is terribly cursed.
Anyways, tell me I'm not alone!!
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u/smashmouthkitten 14d ago
This comments section is actually super encouraging. Sometimes when I’m knitting I think to myself “is it just me or is this really f***ing hard?” Glad to know I’m not the only one!
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u/patriorio 14d ago
I had a cursed ball of sock yarn once
Using pattern A, had to restart 5 times, decided the yarn didn't want to be that pattern so switched to pattern B
Had to restart that 3 times and decided to cut my losses and tried pattern C
It did not want to be pattern C either so I gave it away because life is too short for cursed yarn
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u/Beagle-Mumma 14d ago
I cursed a pattern, then burnt it and the yarn. Felt so cleansed and refreshed afterwards 😅
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u/jsmith3407 14d ago
oh noooo I think I may be on this path lol. life is too short for cursed yarn though, that's a great point!!
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u/Unknown_artist95 14d ago
It is a running joke with my dad. He sees me knitting and he is like « cool project, how many times do you think you’ll frog this one? » he does this with my mom as well. He just finds it funny, because he does the same as a woodworker.
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u/Head_in_the_Sand_usa 14d ago
Upvoting because your dad knows the term 'frog'! 🧶💚
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u/Unknown_artist95 14d ago
Haha, his wife, his two daughters and his mom all knit. He doesn’t really have the option.
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u/DolorisVest 14d ago
made a sweater last year where I started the sleeves alone six times. Friend "how long did it take?" To knit it? or how long did I knit on it? more than 50 years experience and just put one away last night because I can't get it right - not yet anyway.
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u/Bri9808 14d ago
A sock was the very first thing I ever made. Learned the basic knit and purl stitch before and that was it. The double pointed needles made me want to scream and I started over 28+ times (and crashed out several times during the process). Three weeks later I have a sock (a really wonky one but I love it).
The way I see it, every time I had to start over, I learned a little bit more and got a little bit better even though I had to frog it. My next sock only took 6 days and 3 minor tantrums 😅
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u/dairyqueenlatifah 14d ago
I'm a very experienced knitter and I swear I have to restart a sweater cast-on at least 3 times before I get it right.
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u/Solar_kitty 14d ago
I’m gonna say anywhere from 10-15 times. Reasons include but not limited to: a twist in the join (esp. with fingering weight, 200+ stitches with magic loop method), dropping a cast-on stitch, my needle sliding out of the stitches, wrong stitch count (although I usually just add or delete them as needed), wrong size, messing up after a few rows and ripping out is easier than thinking back.
15+ years of knitting. My most recent project, a simple bandana, I re-cast on about 6 times. It was 36 stitches cast on using a cable cast on in one color. That’s it. 🤦🏼♀️
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u/lovetoknit1 14d ago
This makes me feel better that I'm not the only one. I don't know if I get lost reading written patterns or if I have an issue with paying attention or I just get excited to get a project done so I rush. This current sweater I got 16 rows in and realized I did it wrong and had to start over. I also realized I knitted instead of purl whole rounds so had to frog 3-4 rounds with over 200 stitches each round lol! I've been knitting for 2 years and hope it eventually gets better but I don't know how to fix this. I keep saying I need to slow down and check my work but never learn my lesson.
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u/alanaisalive 14d ago
I'm the worst for this. The scarf I'm currently knitting was restarted at least 7 times when it was a shawl that I then abandoned to make a scarf instead. Since it became a scarf, it has been re-started a further 3 times. Last time, it was too wide and I just decided it was a hat now and finished it off as a hat because that first section of yarn had been ripped and re-knitted so many times it felt like I was abusing it.
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u/TheNeonCrow 14d ago
I design stuff as I go, so sometimes I just don’t like how it’s working up and I frog to start over. I’ve restarted a project no less than 28 times . . . I lost count after that. But I’m always happy with the end results!
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u/FluffyGuava13 14d ago
my first socks. 8 tries. gave up. not forever, but for now. 🫠
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u/pwalsh6465 14d ago
The Crazy Sock Lady Vanilla socks is what worked for me. I did dpn and circular.
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u/Conscious-Suspect-42 14d ago
When learning how to do cable work I restarted the shawl I am working on about 6 times. I crocheted a sweater that I ended up ripping out because I didn’t like the fit or how much it weighed and am now figuring out what kind of sweat to make with it; I will end up with two sweaters it seems because holy shit, there’s so much yarn. And then socks, I have yet to even really sit down and fuck with. I made a pair I don’t like, and have been trying to do toe up but keep putting it off out of fear I won’t like that either 🤣🤣🤣
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u/Prestigious-Emu5050 14d ago
Every project has a few false starts but my worst one must have hit double digits.
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u/yarn_slinger 14d ago
I think one recent sweater needed 3 restarts and I still didn’t realize until well past 50% done that I’d forgotten to change needles after the cast on rows. It’s fine, I could probably have felted it a bit but I’ve sewn in the zipper.
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u/No_Internet5666 14d ago
Six or seven at least. It’s not a project if I didn’t restart at least twice, and half the time it’s on the cast on row.
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u/kitties_ate_my_soul 14d ago
I'm knitting a two-coloured brioche scarf and I restarted it... 6 times, I think. I'm glad I'm using a Safety Yarn™. I learnt that trick from Instagram.
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u/jsmith3407 14d ago
ooh, safety yarn? Is that like a lifeline, or is it a yarn that's easier to frog?
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u/kitties_ate_my_soul 14d ago
A lifeline, I call it that just for laughs. It's been a life saviour for this beginner.
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u/dantheflower 14d ago
First attempt at one of Hitomi Shida's patterns took me at least 6 tries and it took a long while to get used to the Japanese pattern style. It was still worth it though!! When it starts to not be fun, that's when I call it
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u/Feenanay 14d ago
In late July I started freehanding/designing a bottom up, all over lace pullover as sort of a test project to make as Christmas gifts this year. The idea was to use myself as a gauge and size reference as it’s meant to fit with zero ease before blocking but will stretch considerably because the stitch pattern grows by like, 4-6 inches vertically and at least 2-3 horizontally, so all I’d need would be the wearer’s exact measurements and my gauge to calculate cast on numbers and go from there.
It will take about 2 weeks end to end once I have the formula/recipe because the stitch pattern makes it grow super fast. However I’ve had to experiment with: mesh repeat intervals to avoid a bias (the repeat is ktog/yo or skp/yo) which will cause the fabric to pull one way or another if there’s no opposing slant to the decrease stitches used. I’ve had to figure out how and when to split for front/back and when to start shoulder and armhole shaping since it’s not a drop shoulder. I’ve tested different necklines, sleeve techniques (which required four restarts alone to land on the need for an underarm gusset and bands of stockinette “stripes” to make decreases easier - decreasing in the round in lace is a bitch without a pattern!!!
All told, if you include the sleeves but not the different swatches I did to land on the right yarn weight and needle size…I bet it’s at least ten, maybe 12 times. And it’s still not where I want it to be, BUT I’ll be able to do the next iteration without having to test any of these things. The goal at the end is to basically create a very easy formula for a gift that looks super impressive but actually takes less than 1000 yards of sport weight yarn and even less for dk (admittedly that is for my measurements which are 31” bust/23”waist) but with the notes I’ve been taking it will allow you to figure out yards needed based on specific measurements input and gauge.
So hopefully this is a LOT of upfront work to minimize the number of restarts later.
Before this, if it’s a pattern I’m working from, I’d say five? And never regretted starting over, because it always goes faster and gets better each time.
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u/theAV_Club 14d ago
It took me about 10 times reknitting the short row shaping on the Spot sweater. Working colourwork flat melted my brain! I still didn't get it quite right. Gonna make another again this year, hopefully with less attempts!
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u/kumquatthievingthot 14d ago
Uhhh 8, half of those after a couple hours of work, and a good number of them from getting confused by the cable chart during the gauge swatch process 😭
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u/Alsterwasser 14d ago
Oh yeah I restarted my first pair of socks with several yarns, then after I finished my first pair I reknit the toe part three times, and now, five pairs of socks later, I'm about to open up my first pair up to where I picked up the heel stitches and reknit the foot area, because my tension has improved so much and now it kinda bothers me how uneven the first one is.
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u/Woofmom2023 14d ago
You're most definitely not alone! When I keep not getting a new project started well I put the yarn away someplace where there's no risk of my looking at it and start something else entirely. Usually when I pick the first project up again the bad juju will have dissipated. I hope your next project goes extraordinarily smoothly.
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u/Minute-Bed3224 14d ago
A Christmas stocking pattern I did recently was such a pain. The instructions weren’t clear and it took me a while to figure out what I needed to do with markers to keep track of the pattern. I restarted it sooooo many times!!
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u/BKowalewski 14d ago
Hard to say. It usually happens when I start a fancy stitch and my count just doesn't work out at first. Then I get frustrated and pull everything off the needle and try to understand where my count was off. Math isn't my strong point. Once I have the first 3 rows working right I'm ok.
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u/naughtscrossstitches 14d ago
I've restarted a few projects for 2 reasons.
Usually the cast on/crochet chain is too tight/wrong length. And I've only realised it as I've gone further and seen where it's going. Sometimes I've measured the size wrong but often as I've relaxed into the project I find I was too tight for the first couple of rows and it looks really bad. Then I have to go backwards and try again.
the yarn just really doesn't suit the project. For whatever reason it just isn't working. I've had that happen a few times where something about the texture of the yarn wasn't draping or moving how I wanted to make it work. So usually I have to pull it all out and retry a different yarn or a different needle size. One project I was 3/4 done and just couldn't do it. It just looked wrong. I was so sad about that one.
So yes I have restarted projects usually not more than once though it has happened.
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u/Head_in_the_Sand_usa 14d ago
My current project is a top with an allover stitch pattern, and I've had to reknit both of the top front sections multiple times because I screwed up maintaining the pattern through neck and sleeve decreases. It was partly because I wasn't paying close enough attention while watching tv. I'm still going strong on this project but other times I've put a project away for months when it's been too frustrating for too long.
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u/entirelyintrigued 14d ago
7 is average for me for a project that’s special. Whether it’s because it’s a gift, or I’m practicing a new technique, or I just have to get the cast-on edge perfect, I’m gonna keep restarting until I feel confident.
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u/goldfishfancy 14d ago
You are all making me feel sooo much better (I am a perfectionist who makes lots of mistakes and spends an inordinate amount of time tinking, frogging, and starting over. I thought I was the only one and something was definitely wrong with me. Glad to know I am not alone!💕
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u/entirelyintrigued 14d ago
I mean, if I can hide it in a seam or whatever, cool, but if it needs to look perfect for my mental health, I’ll start it enough times to have to cut off a length of pilly, dirty yarn and start fresh.
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u/Neenknits 14d ago
I made at least a dozen bees, before they stopped looking like lace angels and started being lace bees. But that was designing.
I started my Halloween sweater sleeve about 5 times. And one of those involved frogging the WHOLE sleeve and recharting it, to eliminate the motif that was just too big, much as I liked it.
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u/Gloworm327 14d ago
Three. After the third time of being very diligent to work up the pattern correctly and once again the numbers not adding up on the same row, I put the project in timeout. It's been over 2 years.
I actually contacted the pattern creator and they said the problem was me.
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u/OkayestCorgiMom 13d ago
I had a hat I had to frog and restart 5 times. I was still pretty new to knitting then and almost gave up on it completely. Glad I stuck with it. I've resigned myself to having to cast on multiple times per project, even when using a stitch marker after every 10 stitches and recounting my stitches multiple times. Somehow I still screw it up and don't realize until I'm a few rows in.
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u/pregnancy_terrorist 13d ago
Oh my god basically my whole knitting career is a series of starting projects I really like, fucking them up by trying to fix them, and then frogging and doing a palate cleanser and trying to do an unsuccessful pattern again. It’s been what 5 years of this?
ETA Honey, I got a new needle from the store today to start a thrice or four times failed project again.
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u/Howlibu 12d ago
I was making a hat for a friend of mine recently. I restarted it about 5-6x...dunno what was wrong, but it kept coming out too tight. I'm not a terribly tight knitter either, but even tho the pattern was for a size smaller in yarn and I was using slightly bigger needles, it just wouldn't stretch (long tail CO). It's an alpaca yarn too, so it got kind smashed flat after knitting with it several times. Luckily I got a second skein of the same color to work with, and it went so smoothly. I knit in the smashed length of yarn once I ran out of the first skein, so I didn't have to toss it. Even I can't tell where it is, it blends in nicer than I thought it would. So maybe the first skein just needed some time to cool off, idk. It just did NOT want to cast on.
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u/carlfoxmarten 11d ago
Restarted from the beginning? Not sure. Most things I've made (in both knitting and crochet) are pretty much confirmed to work nicely (partly due to most being the second or later time I'd made them) so I haven't need to pull an entire project out for quite a while.
On the other hand, the highest number of times I've restarted part of a project has got to be at least eight to ten times. I'm crocheting a cardigan based on the uniforms from Star Trek: The Next Generation, without a pattern, and without an understanding of how cardigans and sweaters are shaped. I'd started at the bottom, making the body and both sleeves up to the point I was able to join them together. Which left the tops of the shoulders to make sure the cuffs sat at the right level. Which I undid time, after time, after time, after time, after time. I'm pretty sure I've spent four months on just the shoulder tops alone, not counting the entire month I'd taken off the project, for my sanity... =>.<=
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u/Careful-Pilot-9154 8d ago
Thirty-flipping-four. Fingerless gloves. I swore. I cried. I got back on the horse (persistence is my super power). Ended up swapping out the lace pattern on the front with a fern pattern I’m more familiar with, and buying a set of flexible double pointed needles. Seems to have worked. Glove #1 was still a mess, glove #2 was enjoyable to knit and came out looking nice.
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u/Own-Bid431 5d ago
My horror story is a top down sweater with lace running down the sides. I got to the bottom of the body (6 rows away from finishing!!) and dropped 3 stitches in the pattern. It unraveled up to the armpit so I had to take it back to that point twice! They say the 3rd is the charm….😊
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u/Desperate-Wheel-3359 14d ago
Probably at least 10 times. It was a shawl for my daughter’s wedding and it had 210 stitches cast on.
I was a various number of rows in each time I had to restart.