Finishing Month: Should You Finish or Frog that Project?

Hello, and welcome to Finishing Month! Another popular New Year’s resolution (after stash busting) was the desire to finish more projects and/or to know how to finish those projects well. This may be a slightly shorter series than the last, but as always if you have a specific question or a topic you’d like to see covered, let me know and I’ll try to work it in.

The first step when it comes to finishing projects is finding and evaluating all the projects you already have on the needles. There may be more of these than you expect. And of course, “unfinished” projects can also include the single sock or mitt you never knit the mate to (I have one each of those!) or the project that’s done in terms of the knitting but just needs the ends woven in or seams sewn or a button sewn on (I may have all of those, too).

So if you’re following along at home, the first thing you need to do is get all these unfinished projects together. Set aside those that just need finishing beyond the knitting, because we’ll get to those skills later in the month.

Now take a look at what’s still on the needles. Ask yourself some questions:

How long has that project been languishing?
Do you still like it?
Is it the right size for you or its intended recipient? (Babies grow fast, you know.)
If not, do you have someone else in mind you could give it to?
Would you wear/use it if you did finish it?
Would you rather use the yarn for something else?

All these questions should help you evaluate each project and determine whether you want to finish it or frog it (rip it!). There will be some of both in your basket.

But the point of looking at each case is that you need to be honest about the projects you aren’t going to finish. Don’t let them linger any longer. Rip them out now. It’s actually kind of liberating to say goodbye to projects you know you don’t want to see through, and if nothing else you’ll replenish your stash of knitting needles.

If you decide to rip out some projects instead of letting them linger longer unfinished, I’d love to hear about it. I know I have at least one (that blue cabled scarf) that I’m going to get off the needles really soon.

Next Pattern:

As I was starting to write this post I thought that it was true that I’d never done a roundup of bucket hat knitting patterns before. But then I looked, and I actually did one last year (which you can find here) but there are plenty of cute bucket hats to do another post about, right?

The one that made me want to write about this (again) is the Red Heart Knit Fanfare Bucket Hat from Yarnspirations. This cute striped hat can be worked in team colors, and while I might prefer a non-acrylic yarn for a summer hat, it would be fine when it’s not too hot outside (or try a cotton yarn instead).

Claire Slade’s Sunlit Bucket Hat has an angled brim to help keep the sun out of your eyes. It’s worked from the bottom up using worsted weight cotton yarn, and comes in three sizes. You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

Get a little air flow in your bucket hat with the Shady Bucket Hat from Wool & Beyond. This one uses DK weight yarn and an eyelet pattern throughout the body to keep it cool. It comes in sizes ranging from newborn to adult large, and is worked in one piece from the top down. You can grab the pattern (in English or Swedish) on Ravelry.

If you’re looking for a fun, floppy sun hat for kids or adults, this pattern from Muki Crafts is a little more slouchy than a traditional bucket hat but it’s super cute. It comes in baby, toddler and bigger kid sizes and adult. I uses worsted weight yarn and is worked from the bottom up.

Another variation on the classic bucket is this one that’s more of a cloche style. Made by branda, it uses bulky yarn so it’s more of a winter bucket hat, but now’s a fine time to knit it if you live somewhere that’s warm right now (or even more so if you live somewhere that’s cold right now).

Another one to get you ready for colder weather is Tirmety, a two-layer bucket hat from ViTalina Craft, which has a textured stitch pattern on one side and stockinette on the other. You can wear either side out or even make them different colors if you want. The pattern is sized for toddlers, kids and adults.

And if you want to add some extra cuteness to your bucket hat, I love this (of course totally optional but also totally adorable) embroidered deatila on the New York Bucket Hat from Pauline Fanguin. It uses two strands of DK weight yarn held together for extra sturdiness, and uses changes in needle size to shape the hat. Of course you could also knit stripes or use different textures of yarn to change up the look. This pattern is made to fit your head and is available in French and English.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?