Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Finishing Workshop: Keeping Track of UFOs

by 4 Comments

orgnaizing ufosThis is probably something I should have mentioned back when we were talking about unfinished project triage, but I only just thought of it today while I was cleaning up some projects that had landed on my dresser.

When you’ve figured out which projects you want to work on right away and which ones it will take you longer to get to, you need a way to safely store those projects that you aren’t going to work on right away but that you still want to finish.

Make sure you have the yarn and needles, the pattern instructions and any notes you may have taken all together in the same place. For some projects you might also want to take the time to figure out which row you were on or mark where you were in the pattern if you didn’t when you stopped working on it before.

That way you won’t have that hurdle to get over when you get back to the project. (And believe me, feeling like you’re lost in a project can keep you from picking it back up for a long time.)

I know it’s better to use cloth bags for wool and other natural fibers, but I tend to use plastic food storage bags for this purpose and just leave them open at the top so they can breathe.

Then the projects can all go in a box or basket together, possibly organized in the order you want to work on them, and the next time you need something to work on all your options will be ready to go.

How do you organize unfinished objects? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Next Pattern:

Comments

  3. That’s a tricky one. Sometimes you can count rows in a pattern repeat if you can read your knitting and that will help you figure out where you were. Or if you were knitting a garment or something measured by length, you can measure your piece and see where that would put you in the instructions.

Have you read?

Use Your Sock Yarn Scraps to Knit a Colorful Scarf

Using your yarn stash is important to me throughout the year, but as I start to feel the end of the year coming on I get more excited about using things I already have in the house. Maybe that’s because I don’t want to go to a store in the thick of holiday shopping times, or I like the idea of having a little space in my stash when the new year rolls around.

It’s super satisfying to use up all the little odd balls you’ve made over the year (or years), and I have several stash busting blankets I work on when it’s cold and will maybe finish someday.

If you’d like to start a stash busting project that’s perfect for using up odd balls, check out the Soukish pattern from Neisha Abdulla. This pattern is made for fingering weight/sock yarn, and it’s worked in a tube with allover color work.

This is great for a couple of reasons. You don’t really have to weave in your ends when you can hide them in a tube (this is one time you might even get by just tying a knot when you change colors!) and you can change colors whenever you run out of yarn and it will look good.

Of course the pattern is made with blocks where the designer changed colors, but you can change yours more or less often as you need to make it work for your stash. You can use blank charts to design your own color combinations, or even your own stitch patterns if you like. You can also adjust the length of the scarf as needed or turn it into a cowl based on the amount of yarn you have.

This project looks like a lot of fun and would be a great thing to have on hand to stitch up and then to wear during the cold, gloomy months.

You can get a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Neisha Abdulla]

Another Way to Use Up All Your Sock Yarn Scraps

Gather Your Scraps for a Fun Wrap

A Scrappy Shawl Knitting Pattern to Use All Your Odd Balls

Use All Your Yarn Scraps on This Great Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *