I’ve been working on these handtowels from Mason Dixon knits for 3 years. I had big plans of making a big stack of them in my bathroom, even making the perfect stand for them to go on, all the while refusing to acknowledge that the yarn I had picked out for them was all wrong.
The pattern called for linen yarn, but linen yarn is really expensive, so each handtowel would have cost about $20 to make. For knitters who just love the process and the chance to work with some gorgeous linen yarn, that might not be a problem at all, but for me, balancing my craft budget amongst all my different mediums and projects, it was too much. So I cheaped out and went for cotton yarn, thinking only about how it would look and hold up, and not so much about the actual job it would do drying your hands.
It didn’t.
For months I’ve been washing my hands in this bathroom, waving them over these towels, and then walking into the kitchen to dry them on a kitchen towel. After 3 years of careful, slow, knitting, I could not bring myself to face the fact that these towels just weren’t cutting it. It was past time to move on.
When I read knitting blogs that talk about a project not working out so they unraveled the knit and used the yarn for something else, I just couldn’t imagine it. I’m such a slow knitter that it caused me physical pain to rip my stitches just to fix a small mistake. Undoing a whole project, one that I worked on for literal YEARS, made me want to cry. But I’m always telling people that a failed project is still time well spent on learning the skills. So I’ll just have to take my own advice, find some other great project for this yarn, and find a new way to dry my hands.
It’s called frogging cos you can go rippit rippit as you unravel or frog. Bet Atti would enjoy helping.
Have you considered using hemp yarn in place of linen? I think it might be cheaper. It is really frustrating to rip out hard work. Really, really frustrating. =(
Hemp! That’s brilliant. I bet it would wear like iron. Have you ever used it? Is it absorbent?
I'm currently knitting a bath scrubbie with it but haven't tried the absorbency of it. I'm assuming it is absorbent because Ravelry has tons of bathroom type projects using hemp.
I want to knit so bad, your knitting didn't fail it was the wrong yarn!!!
I failed at two knitting projects in a row. Like you, I'm trying to see as an opportunity to learn the skill but it's still frustrating. Now I'm working on a project that's a gift and I choose a more expensive yarn. I think I've ripped it out at least 5 times already but I finally like the way it's turning out. Oh well, you win some, you loose some.
It's not a fail, merely an adjustment. Do you change paper colors or weights when making cards? Do you change material when making costumes or ornaments? That's all you're doing. You're still planning on making the things, you're just tinkering with the material.
A great site you should look into is ravelry.com You can sign up for an account, look up the projects you're wanting to knit/crochet and see what everyone else used. You can even find errata if errors were found after the pattern was distributed. I always look up the projects I want to make so I can save myself from any expensive mistakes.
Use the cotton for washing dishes or during baths. You could probably bind off and still save it (if it's not too late).
Just the other day I was working on a sweater for my husband (been married for 16 years and I've never knit him a thing) when I noticed an error 2 inches back. I didn't know what to do. Took it to knitting group to show my friends with the hope they could help fix it. I was told I'd have to tink back one stitch at a time until I got to the error. I was so bummed. That is, until my friend told me that it didn't matter which direction I was going in. The fact remained, I was still knitting.
Not to worry, even the best knitters have UFOs (unfinished objects) lurking in dark corners of their homes that have been that way for years (cough, cough, me, cough). Love the patter and color even if it was the wrong type of yarn.
Best of luck!