9 Reasons Why I Give Knitted Gifts… to Myself

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Honesty hour! I rrrrreally don’t like knitting projects for other people. Don’t get me wrong—I have knitted numerous hats and scarves for people in my family and my friends. There were even a few Christmases (or Craftsmases, as I have coined the holiday) when I knitted (small) gifts for everyone close to me. I’ve done my fair share of knitting for other people. But deep down, I’m a totally selfish knitter.

For me, knitting for others is like knitting with beads … it takes effort. Beautiful results, but effort.

Why you should knit for yourself

What drew me to knitting in the first place (and making clothes in general) is that I can create my own wardrobe and incorporate pieces I’d never be able to buy. Since I’m knitting my own clothes, I can manipulate every aspect of the project so that it’s completely—or mostly, if it’s a popular pattern—unique. The types of projects that attract me are the ones for garments and accessories that I want to wear. And every knitter knows there are too many patterns out there for anyone to knit EVERYTHING they ever want to knit! The idea itself is just preposterous!

This means our knitting time and capacity is limited, and that’s something that people who don’t knit usually don’t quite comprehend. Knitting time is precious. As a result, I choose to use my knitting time creating pieces for myself that I will love, cherish, and always be aware of the time and energy I put into creating.

While exploring some other possible reasons why I prefer to knit for myself over knitting for others, I came up with the following list. Maybe you’ll identify with some of these things. Maybe I missed a thing or two. Either way, the whole point I’m trying to get across is: No, mother, I will not knit you a sweater! I have given you multiple sweaters that I’ve never seen you wear, and they take kind of a long time to make, and you’ve never even said you like one, so cast-on like I taught you and knit your own!!

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Reasons why the best knitted gifts are for oneself:

1. No one else has to know how much you spent on the yarn—and since it was for you, you did NOT pinch pennies.

2. You know how to wash and take care of the fiber properly (a.k.a. no felted wool hats coming out of the dryer!).

3. Only you will truly appreciate the time and energy the project required, from swatching to blocking, because you were there for every step.

4. You get to keep the wool smell all to yourself.

5. Knitting for yourself saves friendships: You don’t have to tell anyone their choice of yarn looks like clown barf.

6. You don’t have to sheepishly ask yourself to make the project. You can just make it!

7. No dumb birthday or holiday deadlines that turn your knitting into a stressful marathon to beat the clock (and no I didn’t put off casting on until the day before because I was busy blocking my Rhinebeck sweater … )

8. You don’t have to feel guilty if you owe yourself a hat. Or, rather, you don’t owe yourself a hat because you knit one already, because you wanted to knit it, and you knit it super fast, because it was for you. Easy.

9. You don’t have to feel guilty if you don’t wear something you made for yourself. (Pro tip: These are the projects you gift to people—the ones that “didn’t quite work out” for you.)

You see?! Basically, it’s just so much better to not worry about knitting for anyone else, and just pleasing and impressing yourself. The look on your face when you give yourself that finished sweater will make you so happy!

Having said that, I do suppose it feels pretty good to knit something for someone else sometimes. Okay, you got me, it feels fantastic! Just don’t ask me to knit you a sweater.

Happy knitting for yourself,
Hannah

Originally published September 20, 2018. Updated December 5, 2021.

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Knit something for yourself or for someone you love!