It can be a tough call to make, but if your project just isn’t going your way, you might end up frogging your knitting. That means ripping out some stitches to fix a mistake or adjust a pattern. No one wants to undo hours of hard work, but sometimes it is for the best to get a better result at the end of your project.
Why frogging?
Although there is some uncertainty about who first coined the term, there is a general consensus about why we call it “frogging.” People usually refer to undoing knitting as ripping it out. So when we say we are going to “rip it, rip it” it sounds like the “ribbit, ribbit” of a frog. Hence, frogging! This cute and funny origin story is always a fun bit of knitting trivia.
Reasons to frog:
There are many reasons that you might need to undo your work. The most obvious one is that you made a mistake and have a glaring error in the middle of your project. There are many ways that you might be able to fix a mistake, but sometimes the best way is to just rip it back to your mistake and start knitting again from there. If you are making a garment, it might be a fit issue. Even if you follow the pattern perfectly, your shirt or sweater still might not fit you just right. The easiest way to figure that out is to try it on, then make adjustments (that might mean frogging a few rows). Another reason for frogging could be that you just don’t like what you are making. Rather than continue struggling through something you don’t enjoy, you can just frog the whole thing and start something new.
Don't give up!
It can be disheartening to rip back a part of your project, but don’t let that discourage you. It can take a few tries to get something right, but it is so much better when you love the outcome of your creation. So don’t give up on your project just because it has a mistake. Frog a few rows and keep going.
Perfection isn't everything
I certainly don’t frog every mistake that I find in my knitting. Perfection isn’t everything, and there are many slip-ups that I can live with. Ripping back your project is just an option. Many knitters love the unique qualities of a handmade item, imperfections and all.
3 thoughts on “Try again: Frogging your knitting”
Unfortunately I have had to frog quite a lot all thru my experience as a knitter (as short as it is) 😬…. I have ‘rip it, rip it’ some much that I could have conjured up thousands of little frogs in the process 😅 but I have also learnt to use
‘Life lines’ regularly now while I knit and that way, i can frog only a few rows at a time without having to necessarily frog the whole work! 👍😊
I don’t think you’re the only one. What a great idea with the lifelines! You’re doing amazingly 🙂
That sounds like something I need to learn. Can u tell me what exactly it is u do for ‘Lifelines’ to work, please. 🙏🏼 Thank U so much… 😉