Whenever I get asked if I have any advice for newer knitters, I almost always say the same thing, “Try stuff. If it doesn’t work, try other stuff.” It’s obnoxious advice, but it’s the best way to learn what you like best.
Knitting is kind of magic because it’s easy to try new things over and over again. If something doesn’t work, you almost always can rip back you knitting and do something else. Sometimes you knit and frog swatches using the same yarn over and over again until you find the perfect technique. Sometimes you take apart an almost finished sweater body because you made a small mistake and have to start over again. It’s frustrating, but you have the chance to do things over until they’re the way you want them.
Unlike a lot of other crafts, knitting offers second, third, and fourth chances to get things right so a mistake isn’t death sentence for a project. Good yarn can survive being worked, taken apart, and worked again slightly differently. There’s no reason to not try things and risk mistakes. Be adventurous and try stuff. It’s not a big deal if it doesn’t end up working out because there are always other things to try.
I have to admit that it can be obnoxious to take my own advice. It’s not really a big deal that I have to do over most of this sweater. I’ve just started the body rows after casting on the underarms. The fronts and back didn’t take too long to knit a second time and I took the opportunity to change how I did the scallops. I changed my mind for the 1,000th time and decided that I like the wider ones better. That’s the small perk of doing this over. It’s a little annoying, but that’s all.
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