Our Scariest Knitting Moments

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What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to your knitting? Most knitters have those scary stories—you know, the ones about project catastrophes that inspire fear in all who hear them. The ones about the dog that ate their WIP or the steeking that went horribly wrong or the unfortunate encounter with DPNs. In honor of Halloween, we’re sharing some of our scariest knitting moments with you. Read on and learn from our mistakes!

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Julia Pillard, Digital Content Editor

My scariest knitting moment happened when I had just started learning to knit. My friend had loaned me some yarn to get started, and while it was an absolutely lovely cotton/wool blend, it was quite slippery. One night after my second or third knitting lesson, I shoved the knitting into my bag without really thinking about it. Only later, when I pulled it out to work on, did I realize that I’d accidentally pulled off nearly half the stitches from the needles. Some of them had even started unraveling! I was so new that I didn’t know what to, so I panicked and ended up ripping out the whole thing. With time comes wisdom, though: if that were to happen to me now, I could definitely fix it. Plus, I’ve learned the value of adding a lifeline. 

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Stephanie White, Content Manager

Once upon a time, I told my niece if she painted a sweater, I would turn that painting into a real-life sweater. I gave her no parameters whatsoever, which in hindsight was potentially a mistake. The resulting painting featured a large moth front and center. I spent weeks charting that moth and months (and months!) knitting it. There was a moment in the middle, amidst a tangle of bobbins, that I started to panic. Was I actually knitting or just creating a giant, multi-colored knot?

I pushed through, taking things one stitch at a time (and looked up some tips on managing intarsia bobbins!). I’m really pleased with the finished sweater, and so is my niece (thank goodness!).

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Allison Korleski, Video Producer

Riding the commuter train between NYC and NJ is an excellent opportunity for knitting. It’s also an excellent opportunity for homebound drunks to sit next to you and ask you about your knitting. While spitting tobacco in a cup. The train lurched left, Mr. Copenhagen lurched right, and his spit-cup ended up cleaving to my half-knit scarf in the most unholy marriage of all times.

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Andrea Lotz, Social Media Manager

My most terrifying moment came right at the end of my Bandelier Socks. I was tucking in and trimming my ends, perhaps slightly more intoxicated than was wise, and I accidentally cut fabric! The horror! Luckily, it was just one thread and I was able to repair the mistake with lots and lots of reinforcing duplicate stitch.

You can bet I won’t make that mistake again, though!

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Joni Coniglio, Knitting Senior Project Editor

I’ve never had a scary moment when knitting. I have had challenging moments, and perplexing moments, and frustrating moments. I’ve even gotten angry at my knitting. But I’ve never been afraid of it. What is there to fear? Failure? When you think about it, to fail is to stop trying too soon. The key is to persevere and to accept the inevitability of making mistakes. The nice thing is that most knitting mistakes are fixable.

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What’s your scariest knitting moment?
—The Interweave Yarn Team

Originally published 10/30/2018. Updated 10/29/2021.

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Ease your knitting fears!