The Knitting Police Think You’re Doing Things Wrong

Apparently the knitting police have been out in full force on TikTok lately. As a result, I’ve seen a lot of conversation about the topic. I have a whole lot of thoughts on this one, so I will probably break this up into a couple of blog posts.

For today, let’s focus on whether there is actually a right way and a wrong way to knit. That seems to be the biggest source of tension. What happens when you see someone knitting, and they’re knitting wrong?

Doing Things Differently vs. Doing Things Wrong

The first question to ask ourselves when we see somebody knitting in a way that sets off our Spidey senses is to ask whether they are actually doing it wrong or whether they are just doing it differently from how we would expect. Spoiler alert: it only gets more complicated from there.

Let’s take a look at doing things differently, first. I tend to lump these activities into two main categories: using different techniques and deviating from the written pattern.

Using different techniques

One way a person might do things differently without knitting incorrectly is by using a different technique to achieve the same result. For example, there are so many different ways to knit. There are English style knitters, continental style knitters, lever knitters, Portuguese knitters, combination knitters, left-handed knitters with leftie-specific techniques, and so many others. Within some of those groups, there are even further subgroups.

All of those styles of knitting end up producing the same result. These knitters aren’t knitting incorrectly. They’re just knitting differently.

The same is true with forming stitches. There are some stitches that can be formed in multiple ways. For example, I take a shortcut when knitting my slip slip knit stitch. The instruction guides will all tell you to slip two stitches individually knitwise, transfer the stitches back to your left needle, and knit together through the back loop.

I still slip the two stitches individually knitwise. Then, instead of transferring them back to my left needle and knitting them through the back loop, I just insert my left needle through the front of the two stitches and knit them together. That achieves the same result without the added faff of having to switch needles.

So sometimes, a technique is different from what you’re used to seeing, but that doesn’t mean it’s the wrong technique. It’s just a different technique.

Intentional stylistic variations

Another way a person can knit differently without knitting wrong is where they make intentional changes to a pattern. Making intentional changes requires that you understand a few things. You need to understand what the original instructions are telling you to do, the purpose of those original instructions, the change that you are making, and how your change is going to alter the finished product you are knitting. You also need to be okay with that altered outcome. If the answer to all of those is yes, then you are making a true, intentional change to the instructions provided by the pattern designer.

Now, sometimes, a knitter might think they’re making intentional variations but are in fact making a mistake. Here’s an example of what I mean.

When I was a younger knitter, I struggled with short rows. I found them confusing, and I didn’t understand the purpose that they served in garment shaping. I didn’t understand that short rows around the neck of a garment will raise the back neck so that it sits more comfortably on the body. As a result, when I knit a raglan sleeve cardigan, I skipped those short rows.

I thought I was making an intentional decision. In fact, I was making a mistake, because I didn’t understand how those short rows were meant to affect the fit of my garment. In the end, I did not like the finished fit of the garment. I kept pulling that back collar up on my neck, which resulted in a higher position for the back hem than the front hem. The front points of the cardigan then dangled lower than the back hem. It was a crooked mess.

On the other hand, last year, I knit myself a Rococo Raglan Tee by Sari Nordlund. It’s still one of my favorite shirts I have knit for myself, and I wear it all the time. When I knit it, though, I made a couple intentional changes.

The original design uses an i-cord bind off along the neckline and the sleeves. I wanted a finish that was a little stretchier and a little more visually weighty, so I used ribbing instead. The end result was a sweater that I liked and that fit me the way I wanted it to. That was an intentional choice. I understood how the original i-cord bind off functioned, I understood the functioning of the edging that I chose instead, I understood how that change would affect the garment, and I was happy with the results that would come from my change.

Different Kinds of Mistakes

Now that we’ve covered intentional differences, let’s talk about mistakes. A mistake is where you are doing something different from what the pattern calls for, and you don’t realize that’s what you’re doing. Mistakes are not a moral failing. Every knitter makes mistakes as they are learning, and frankly, even very experienced knitters make mistakes pretty regularly. I’ve been knitting for 18 years now, and I am still constantly frogging and knitting projects. It’s just part of the process.

Within the realm of mistakes, I think there are two sub-categories of mistakes. There are mistakes that matter, and there are mistakes that don’t.

Mistakes that don’t matter

Mistakes that don’t matter are mistakes that don’t significantly affect the feel and usability of your finished knit. These might be things like using the wrong decrease at one point in your project but not using the wrong decrease consistently. It could look like missing an increase at one point and adding the increase later where it’s not visible and doesn’t affect the overall fit of the item.

These sorts of mistakes are really common, and they are part of the knitting process. For many of us, it’s also part of the process of letting go of our perfectionism while crafting. Learning to decide for yourself which mistakes matter and which mistakes don’t will go a long way toward minimizing your frustration as you knit.

One way I decide whether a mistake matters is to ask myself if that mistake will bother me in the long run. If I can see it and it’s really obvious, I might go back and fix it. If it is a super minor mistake that is invisible to everybody else and even I would have trouble spotting it while using the knit thing, I’m going to leave it be.

Mistakes that matter

Now sometimes, there are mistakes that are critical mistakes. The most important ones are mistakes that significantly alter your stitch count and therefore alter the fit of your finished item.

If you’re knitting a sock and you’re supposed to have 64 stitches, but you have 74 stitches, that’s a mistake you need to go back and fix. That sock will be way too big for you.

On the other hand, if I were knitting a garter-stitch scarf, and I needed 64 stitches but I had 65, I’d just ignore it. That’s a mistake that doesn’t materially affect anything.

There are ways to help avoid these kinds of mistakes. You can use stitch markers between pattern repeats so that you can see more quickly when your stitches are off. You can also use a lifeline so that you can rip back your work without dropping all of your stitches.

How the Knitting Police Play into All of This

If you’re going to offer advice on someone else’s knitting, I think you need to ask yourself a couple questions, first. I know, I know. I’m offering unsolicited advice on giving unsolicited advice. The humor of this has not escaped me!

Anyway. The first question is whether the advice giver actually has expertise or whether they’re experiencing a little bit of the Dunning-Kruger effect. I think, because it’s relatively easy to master the basics of knitting, it can be easy to think that once you have mastered those basics, you know a lot about knitting.

The reality is more complex. I’ll be honest: even after 18 years of knitting, I still double-check things and do research for these blog posts. I’m not pulling this stuff out of thin air. I am confirming pretty regularly that what I think is true is in fact true.

And then I think the next question to ask before offering advice is whether this is the right time and place to give that advice. More on that in a follow-up blog post.

---

Let’s stay connected! 

Join my newsletter for 30% off all new releases, regular updates with helpful tips and tricks, first crack at registration for upcoming workshops, exclusive discounts, and more.

I’m on YouTube now and would love to have you join me there for regular project updates, technique tips, chats about goings-on in the knitting world, and more.

Prefer to read without ads? Join my Patreon, which starts at just $1 a month!

Join the A Bee In The Bonnet Facebook Group to participate in knitalongs and other fun community events

Come hang out with me on the A Bee In The Bonnet TikTok

Follow along on the A Bee In The Bonnet Instagram

Get inspired via the A Bee In The Bonnet Pinterest