Crochet mistake? Here's How to Decide to Frog It or Keep Going
To frog or not to frog, that is the question! If you've been going along making progress on your crochet project and suddenly you spot a mistake you made rows before, you're not alone. This happens to us all. You might experience frustration setting in, maybe panic, anger, sadness, or a range of other emotions as you contemplate whether you are going to need to pull out all this work you've done, maybe hours worth of stitches, to fix your mistake and start again.
Let's work through a few considerations which should help you make an informed decision while minimizing the painful emotions that frogging can bring. Then, stick around for my personal favorite ways to think about the mistakes I make in my own crochet journey.
Do I really need to frog? Consider this...
What kind of project are you working on
Depending on the project, some mistakes may cause a big issue for you down the line. If you are working on a wearable piece like a shirt or sweater and forgot to decrease in a key area for shaping, you might have a fit issue. Depending on the severity, it might be worth frogging and fixing here. However, if you're making a blanket like the Starlight Throw and notice you somehow lost some stitches over the past few rows, in most cases this will not be noticeable and will not affect the overall shape. In this case, frogging may not be necessary!
How visible is this mistake?
If you hold it at arms length and don't stare directly at the mistake you know you made, can you even tell? In most cases, I will bet absolutely no one will notice.
On the other hand, are you making a tapestry crochet piece and realize you spelled a word wrong? Ok, maybe you want to frog here. OR! Maybe you leave it and let it become a fun conversation topic! Which leads me to the next question.
What level of perfectionist are you
Some people would finish a project, maybe they missed a stitch and there's a teensy tiny space where there shouldn't be, and whenever they wear the piece it brings back the frustration of that one mistake. They can't be at peace and will hyper-fixate on that one missed stitch.... If this is you, it's ok. The truest answer to whether you should frog or not is: do you want to? In crochet as in life, do what feels best to you, not what you think should be done. If you will not be able to sleep knowing that there's a missed stitch in your piece somewhere, you frog away to your heart's content!
If this far end of the perfectionist spectrum doesn't resonate (or if you are a perfectionist that is open to changing for the sake of your peace), read on!
My argument to leave your mistakes and worries behind
Wabi-sabi
"The Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi is about noticing and appreciating imperfection, impermanence, and the understated beauty in everyday life." Mark Travers, Ph.D. shares on Psychology Today that "Perfectionism, as we know, can fuel chronic stress, procrastination, and self-doubt. Wabi-sabi, as the antidote to perfection, encourages embracing flaws in ourselves, others, and the world around us."
I love the idea of wabi-sabi. I personally think making mistakes and then learning from them is something that should be celebrated! Check out this color work piece I made. Forgive me for using a knit project as an example of crochet mistakes, but these lessons are universal. At some point I messed up the V shape in the pattern. Can you spot it? A bit more obvious than my earlier example. I had noticed that somewhere along the way I lost count and placed the white stitch in the wrong place, but after some reflection I decided I didn't mind it and kept going. Honestly, I kinda like that things are a bit misaligned. It feels like it adds character, that beauty in imperfection!
Crochet Flexibility
One thing I love about crochet is that it's often very easy to hide your mistakes, or make adjustments for them later with no visible impact to the piece. In most cases, if you somehow decreased in the number of stitches somewhere along the way, you can often just do an increase in your next row to make up for it. Try to be strategic with these choices, placing it somewhere inconspicuous, and not along the edges where and increase and decrease can be most visible. This happened to me just this week on this piece pictured below. Can you spot where I accidentally decreased and then sometime later intentionally increased to make up for it?
It's Handmade
When people get to see your work, you can absolutely be sure that no one will notice your mistakes. They will be over-the-moon impressed that you turned balls of yarn into a piece of art, amazed at your skill and patience! As artists and crafters, we are the closest to the work so every tiny thing stands out to us as we go. But no one will be as close to the project as you, so let yourself release those fears and see how it feels.
When I was learning mosaic crochet, I started this blanket. I was really lazy at counting my stitches every row and boy did the total stitch counts vary from start to finish. Look at this thing!
But let me tell you. I keep it folded up in my living room as a statement piece and people love it and compliment me all the time. The edges are hidden and no one needs to even know that the edges are wonky, not that I'm sure they would even notice should they see them!
Finally, did you learn something?
I believe that a mistake is not really a mistake if you learned something from it. If you want to read more about that, I dive into this topic more here. Keep up the good work!
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