Common Knitting Mistake

We all make mistakes. Even knitters who have been knitting for many years, misunderstand the row, mix up the stitches or the finished piece of knitting just doesn’t fit.

Here in this blog we have compiled the most common knitting mistakes for you and tips on how these mistakes do not happen to you or how you can avoid them.

01 The wrong wool

The selection of knitting yarn is huge. There is thick wool, fine or medium-thick wool, it is colorful or patterned, with a color gradient or with glitter, simple yarn or effect yarn, made of natural, synthetic or mixed fibers and there can be many other different yarns. It is difficult to find the right yarn for the project in this jungle of yarn, because not every yarn is suitable for every knitting project. For example, if you want to knit a light summer sweater with a fine openwork pattern, you need a rather fine yarn. On the other hand, you cannot knit a warm winter scarf with fine lace yarn. Chenille or fringed yarns are not suitable for complicated knitting patterns where you need to see the stitches, because with such yarns the individual stitches can hardly be seen. Some yarns are easier to work with than others. You can often knit more easily with yarns made of synthetic fibers or blended fibers because these yarns simply slip better. In contrast, thicker yarns made of natural fibers are more demanding. It is therefore essential to consider in advance what you need the wool for, what you want to knit and how you want to process it. Most patterns for knitting projects have the correct yarns listed. You can orientate yourself on the composition of the wool and the length and weight and thus find a suitable alternative yarn.

02 Knitting needles that don’t match the yarn

There are a wide variety of knitting needles, they have different sizes, lengths and they can be made of a wide variety of materials. The banderole of the wool always states which needle size is suitable for this wool. If you use knitting needles of a size that doesn’t match the wool at all, you won’t get nice and even results. It is also important what material the needles are made of, because a wooden knitting needle is not a combination with natural fibers. The natural fibers are rough, as are the wooden knitting needles, which is why you cannot achieve a smooth workflow. Here we recommend the metal knitting needles made of aluminum, steel or brass.

03 No gauge sample made

It is a gross mistake if you leave out the gauge. This is annoying, takes time and probably nobody likes to do it, but a gauge is extremely important. Everyone knits a little differently, so your piece may have completely different measurements even though you knit the same number of stitches and rows.

The pattern you are working with can also affect the size. On the banderole of the wool, for example, the information on the gauge always refers to the knitting pattern in stockinette stitch. So if you want to knit in a different pattern, the dimensions given on the banderole will no longer be correct. In the end, your knitted piece will be too wide or too narrow and may not fit, and that’s annoying when you’ve worked on one piece for days or even weeks and it ended up being in vain. It is therefore always important to knit a swatch in advance and to compare the measurements and adjust them from the outset.

04 The working thread was kept too loose

For an even stitch structure, it is important that your working thread is always evenly tensioned. If you keep your thread too loose, the stitches will also become large and loose. If you over-tighten your stitches will be too tight and your work won’t feel soft. First try the thread once or twice around your index finger and practice the thread tension until you get a feel for it.

05 The stitches cast off too tightly

All knitting ends with binding off the stitches. To do this, you usually knit two stitches. Then pull the first stitch over the second stitch and let the needle slip. Then knit the next stitch, pull the previous stitch over it again and let it fall off the needle. If you notice that you are pulling the stitches too tight, you can try binding off the stitches with a crochet hook or alternatively you can use one or two needle sizes larger for binding off. In this way, the stitches automatically become looser.

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”- Albert Einstein

Don’t let the mistakes slow you down and learn from them. Because that’s what the mistakes are for.