Have you ever gotten frustrated with your knitting? Don't let these pitfalls happen to you!

Here are the 7 most common reasons people quit knitting and how to avoid them.

7 Reasons Why People Quit Knitting and How to Avoid Them

Have you ever stopped knitting partway through a project because you got stuck frustrated just didn't know where to go from there?

I'm going to talk to you about the seven reasons why people quit knitting.

#1. You Get Lost In Your Knitting Project

People get lost in their knitting project and don't know where they are.

This has happened to me more times than I’d like to recall.

For example, I'll be knitting away and think, “I'll never forget this stitch. I know exactly where I am. I know what row I'm on.”

I go away from it from my project or set it down for a little while…come back and I’ve completely forgotten where I am in the project. Has this ever happened to you?

I spend the next hour trying to figure out where I am.

Now I use notepads or mark down on my knitting pattern where i stopped.

I might make a tick mark or just write down what row I stopped on so that when I go back to it, I won’t where I am in the knitting.

If you get more and more involved in a project or you get a more difficult project like cables, lace, or color work, you put down that project it can take you hours, days, or weeks to figure out where you are in that project.

I highly advise using a system and you won't have that frustrating problem of not knowing where you are in the project.

#2. You Don't Choose the Right Project for Your Skill Level

There are so many projects out there, it can be overwhelming knowing what to choose.

To select a project for your skill level, take a look at the pattern. Often times, the pattern designer will make note of the skills used in that project. Even better, if you have access to the pattern, read through the pattern before you start.

Make sure you understand all the concepts, because, if you're a beginner knitter and you pick up an entrelac or brioche pattern, you will most likely get stuck and really fumble through it and struggle.

The goal instead is to see knitting success even if you're a beginner or advanced beginner.

I recommend choosing quick easy projects so you have knitting success.

#3. You Want Instant Gratification

Remember that knitting is a journey.

With each stitch, you're getting something out of it. It's moving you along through your journey and you're understanding what the stitches are supposed to be doing. You’ll be able to grasp the drape of the fabric and the feel of the yarn in your hands.

You know, you can go and buy pretty much anything but to hand knit something on your own is something special.

It's the process that you're there to enjoy and, yes, you will have a great finished project when you're done. But remember, it's all about the journey and not getting instant gratification.

You're creating slow fashion.

You're creating something that you've made with your own two hands and you'll have for a very long time or a gift that you'll be able to give to someone that you can say you created on your own.

#4. Your Project Doesn’t Come Out As Anticipated

Why do projects not come out looking right? It can come down to some really simple.

Here are some things that can make or break your project.

A. Knitting a gauge swatch.

If you're knitting something like socks, a hat, a sweater, mittens…something that is actually fitted somewhere on the body making a gauge is super important.

When you make a gauge, what you're essentially doing is you're taking a look at the knitting designer's gauge and you're comparing your gauge to their gauge. You're seeing how you line up you may have to go up a needle size down a needle size to match how they knitted.

You can't say that you always “knit to gauge” because the designer's gauge changes from project to project because there's hundreds of thousands of designers all creating their own gauge.

So, you always need to do a gauge swatch to make sure that your stitches over four inches match up to what theirs so the project comes out as you expect.

B. Choose the correct yarn and materials.

People often choose the wrong materials and then are surprised at the finished result.

For example, if a project calls for a cotton yarn you don't want to choose necessarily a wool or silk yarn. The drape will be completely different and it does make a difference in the overall look and feel of your finished project.

Instead, choose materials that match closest to the recommended materials and yarns chosen for that particular project.

C. Finish your garment properly.

You may have created the most gorgeous project using the most expensive exclusive cashmere available, but if you seam it together using shoddy finishing techniques, or you whip stitch it not paying any attention to what it looks like, your project will go from a handmade project to a homemade project in record time.

It will not look good and you won't like the outcome. The seams will look sloppy and it can make or break any project no matter how much you spend on the yarn or materials you use.

Keep those things in mind so that you continue knitting and aren’t frustrated with the finished results.

#5. You Don't Take Time to Understand Knitting Fundamentals

The fundamentals are really important in knitting because they can keep you from making the same mistakes over and over.

I had somebody email me the other day and she said she keeps adding stitches to her knitting.

Well that's a fundamental problem.

You need to understand when you're knitting why you're adding stitches.

Are you are you doing a yarn over?
Are you re-knitting a stitch and not taking it off the needle?
Are you wrapping the yarn around the needle at the end of the row or beginning of the row and then counting that as a stitch?

As you can see, there are quite a few reasons why something like this can happen.

The more you understand the fundamentals of knitting and why knitting looks the way it does and what the stitches are supposed to look like, you will be less likely to quit knitting because.

That understanding only comes from practice and time with your knitting.

#6. You Have Knitting Start-itis

Start-itis is a very common ailment in knitting!

With all of the interesting yarns and projects available, it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

Knitters will go to a store or go online, they get all these projects, and then they get completely overwhelmed because they’ve started too many projects.

This is an especially common problem when you're a new knitter.

I recommend sticking to one or two knitting projects and see them through to completion before moving on to the next.

There’s kind of a standing joke in the knitting world where we'll ask, “how many knitting projects do you have going right now?”

It’s not uncommon for knitters to have at least a dozen or more projects in the works!

We all love starting new projects. There's the excitement of choosing of yarns and the possibilities of what you're going to create.

However, when you're new to knitting, it can be very overwhelming, especially when you're slower and trying to understand concepts and basics.

The biggest problem with this is that don't really see anything completed. It leads you to believe knitting just isn't going well..I'm not finishing anything!

It’s not because you can’t finish a project, it’s because you have too many projects going.

Pick one or two projects quick and easy projects and see them through.

By doing this, you can have that, “I did it!” moment and sense of accomplishment.

THEN you can move on to the next project.

#7. You Quit Before You Get the Hang of It

Just like any hobby, it doesn't matter what it is, there is always a learning curve.

There's an amount of time that you have to spend mastering a new skill. It could be something like learning music, playing an instrument, or learning to sew.

You need time to grasp and understand the key concepts of that art or or hobby.

There's always that frustrating part in the beginning and you just need to see it through.

My favorite motivational speaker, Brian Tracy, has a saying that has always stuck in my head: