January 3rd, 2013

31 Days to Get Organized: Tips for Your WIPs

Yesterday’s task was to sort through your unfinished knitting and crochet projects (WIPs) and decided what you want to finish and what to let go. It’s Day 3 of 31 Days to Get Organized and I have a few tips for your WIPs so that they’re easier to come back to when you’re ready to pick them up again.

Don’t tie up your needles and hooks in your WIPs – If you’re going to stop working on a project for awhile, remove your knitting needles or crochet hook from your work before storing it. If it’s a crochet project, just slip in a locking stitch marker, paper clip, or waste yarn through your last stitch to keep it from unraveling. If it’s a knitting project, you’ll have a little more work to do. If you don’t have many live stitches, you can use a stitch holder (my favorite are the Clover Double Ended Stitch Holders). If you have a lot of stitches, move them to a piece of waste yarn. If you’ve never done this before, watch our How to Use a Lifeline in Knitting video to see how it’s done.

Leave a clue as to what size hook or needle you were using – You don’t always end up using the recommended size hook or needle for a project. And it’s really tough to remember what size you were using. If you haven’t made a note about your size yet, jot it down somewhere. Just write it on a sticky note and stick in your project bag.

Keep your swatch with your project – This is particularly handy if you run out of yarn and need just a little bit more to finish. You can unravel your gauge swatch and use that yarn to complete your project.

Write down details of where you left off on the pattern – I’ve spent way too many hours trying to figure out where I was in a pattern when I pick up a project again. Often I have to unknit or rip back my crochet to a known point in the pattern, very frustrating. Leave some kind of trace on the pattern, either a sticky note, highlighter tape, or actually writing on the pattern itself. I’ve learned not to trust the numbers on counters anymore since sometimes these get changed by accident (or by little children).

Make a note of the size you’re making – This comes up most often for me with sweater patterns either for me or babies and toddlers. It’s not always obvious which size I intended to make.

What tips do you have that make it easier to pick up a WIP and start knitting or crocheting it again? Share your tip in the comments.

- Dena

Tags: , , ,

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 3rd, 2013 at 7:48 pm and is filed under Tips & Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

  • http://www.facebook.com/lara.toomeysmoot Lara Toomey Smoot

    I had fun frogging today! My husband got an electric ball winder for me for Christmas and it made frogging go really fast!

  • Kelly H.

    I write my needle size, name and a few details about the project on a piece of paper, then skewer that paper on the stitch holder or lifeline before closing the holder up.

  • penneyknits

    I do that also, Kelly. Then I put it all in a clear zip bag so i can see it all together. It was fun to go through WIPs today and decide what to keep, what to frog. I feel practically virtuous!

  • Darlene

    What a great idea to take out your needles from your WIP’s that are sitting in time out, and put in stitch holders or waste yarn. Then I wouldn’t always have to be ordering another Addi needle (must have a small fortune invested in them now). Off to start going through the WIP pile! Thanks.

  • Darlene

    I like your idea of putting all my WIP’s in clear plastic bags so I can see them easier! Guess what I’m going to do next.

  • http://twitter.com/DenaChilds Dena Childs

    Out of sight, out of mind. Clear storage is a great solution.

  • Darlene

    So true, Dena. ! I presently have most of mine in knitting bags, recyclable grocery bags, etc. (non-see-through).

  • Laura

    I’m always stealing the tips from my interchangeable needles off one project to use on another. So now I punch a hole on a 3×5 card and slip it on the cable before I put on the end caps. On the card, I write the needle size, where I am in the pattern, and any other relevant notes. Makes it much easier to pick up when I get back to it!

    But I’ve also been on a frogging kick lately. I had three half-knit sweaters that I knew weren’t working out. I ripped out two of them completely, and ripped the third one back to the yoke. Having them sitting around was just sapping my knitting enthusiasm. I reskeined the yarn and soaked out the kinks, and now I’m filled with the fun optimism that “new” yarn brings!

  • http://www.facebook.com/marie.waterman.9 Marie Waterman

    I keep a knitting notebook that is a five-section school-ruled spiral bound notebook. I write down each section of the pattern and make columns for repeats. Each row is numbered. If the pattern is symbols only, I write it out line by line (K2, PSSO, etc). I can’t follow directly from a chart. I write a check mark after each row as I complete it. If I have to rip out, I unravel a row at a time, and erase the check marks one at a time. This has worked well for me and has kept my purchased pattern magazines and charts free of markings.. I just finished a hat and lace scarf set.

  • Iris Westcott

    When I steal a needle from a WIP, I put knots in my long tail from the cast-on equal to the needle number, so for a size 9 needle I tie 9 knots. If the long tail is too short, I tie on a length of waste yarn which I’ve knotted.

  • Cjmd

    I’m enjoying this series so far. Looking forward to more, as one resolution is to reorganize my stash. I am inspired to finally deal with old WIPs. Looking forward to unravelling

  • Sally

    Since every make and type of needle (such as straight vs. circular) can delivery slightly different gauge even on the “same” gauge needle, I’d only be confident removing a needle from a project if I kept track of that information as well.

  • http://twitter.com/DenaChilds Dena Childs

    Nice index card tip. Great job realizing when to frog. It’s no good when your knitting enthusiasm gets sapped.

  • http://twitter.com/DenaChilds Dena Childs

    We’re going to start tackling the stash soon. This is a BIG job for a lot of people.

  • http://twitter.com/DenaChilds Dena Childs

    Good point. I know I have a slightly different gauge with wooden vs. metal needles.

  • Denise V

    Why am I having such a tough time finding this everyday? Am I doing something wrong?

  • http://twitter.com/DenaChilds Dena Childs

    I’ve been posting these in the evening each day. So that might be what’s happening. You’re looking for a post that hasn’t been posted yet for the day.

  • BeverlyL

    Sticky notes get unstuck or slip…write down the stopping point, rather than just an arrow and “here”.

  • http://www.facebook.com/rhyslarn.slade Rhyslarn Slade

    I tend to knit and crochet at my computer desk so I like to convert my patterns into pdf format.
    When I start on a pattern and make adjustments, I use the highlighter and note tools to make notations about the changes I made or where I’m currently at. If the changes that I made are just for the current piece and not something that I want to carry over to the next time, I will remove the notations when I’ve completed the project.
    I tend to leave notations about tricky areas, how I felt about the pattern overall, changes to hook sizes or whatever sticks out in my head.

  • mamastella

    I do all my knitting at my computer desk and work from patterns I have downloaded or bookmarked. When I start a project, I also start a document with my notes about the pattern. For example, if I am knitting “Lovely Gloves” I will open a document file called “Lovely Gloves, my notes.” In my document I put every piece of information about the date I started, who it’s for or why I’m making it, the yarn, the needles, my gauge, etc. I cut and paste the instructions from the original pattern and then break it down into line by line instructions, on which I make a notation each time I complete them. If it doesn’t work out for me, I make a notation about why and what I’m going to do about it. I am, in fact, making a journal entry about this project because I often enter personal comments about what’s going on in my world. Or the world in general.