Make more time to knit
Do you wish to make more time to knit?
I know I do. So I dived into the world of plans, habits,
I sure hope that some of these tips will help you make some more valuable knitting time!
1. Give yourself the gift of a new habit
Decide on making knitting a daily habit, like brushing your teeth or working out. Name a time and a place and commit to giving yourself this gift. After all, knitting is beneficial to your health, like hygiene and exercise.
When you knit there is a lot of good stuff going on in your mind and body, take care of all that goodness.
Use your knitting as a carrot
I like to use my knitting as a carrot and schedule it after all the other things I have to do. If I, for example, get done with my to-do-list during the day. I can knit a whole evening instead of continuing my household work when the kids have gone to sleep.
2. Join a knitting group/class/knit-a-long
If you like to knit “social” you could join a knitting group or take a knitting class. This is another way to put knitting in your schedule. If people are expecting you to come to a meeting, you will have to make time and show up!
This is also a perfect way to meet new friends, learn new skills and make time for you and your handicraft.
Knit-a-longs are great too. It’s inspiring to see what the other members are doing. You can learn from each other and you will make time to knit because you want to keep up with the group.
3. If I sit, I knit!
Learn to knit without looking at your needles and you will gain loads of knitting-time!
I don’t know about you, but I knit almost everywhere. Take all the opportunities that are out there and your knitting time will increase.
Some suggestions for when and where to knit:
- While watching your children play
- At the playground
- At the beach
- In waiting rooms
- While watching tv
- While reading
- When having coffee with friends and family
- During car rides (if someone else is driving of course!)
The sky is really the limit here. Once you get used to always having a project bag with you, you will probably be knitting everywhere… And you’ll be surprised over how much these extra minutes will grow your projects.
4. Have your knitting ready to go!
Have a project bag with an “out of the house”-knitting and the necessary notions ready to go. Then you can grab it when you’re going out.
Choose a small and easy project. Small as it should be light to carry around. Easy as you should be able to pick it up and continue, and tuck it away fast when needed to. No pattern reading, calculations or complicated stitch patterns here!
5. Use digital patterns
Making swatches is like trying out a project before committing. If you don’t like swatching it you will not like knitting it either. So save yourself some valuable time and make a swatch before you start a new project.
6. Learn to knit while you walk to make more time to knit
This is one I haven’t mastered yet. But you have to have some challenges left, right?
Before the industrial revolution, many women knitted for their living. They had to knit while doing other chores like herding sheep or walking places. They actually used that time to knit walking or standing. If I could take a knitting walk I believe my walks should be many more.
7. Speed Knitting – Learn to knit faster!
There are several ways to increase your knitting speed. You can try a new knitting style, for example. This won’t give you more time to knit, but it can help you do more in the same amount of time!
Reading tip:
––> I have a post entirely dedicated to different methods and hacks for knitting faster. Please enjoy! Speed Knitting: 12 tips on how to knit faster
8. Stop buying new yarn before a project is finished
New yarn is a distraction, and you don’t need more distractions! If you don’t buy new yarn until a project is finished you get a reward for finishing. And, you can concentrate on the new project.
9. Frog projects you no longer wish to work on
These projects will take up space and steal your energy when they’re lying there accusing you. Or, at least that’s the way I feel about my hibernating projects.
10. Make swatches
Making swatches is like trying out a project before committing to really do it. If you don’t like swatching it you probably won’t like knitting it either. So save yourself some valuable time and make a swatch before you start a bit project.
Reading tip:
––> This one is all about the art of swatching: How to measure gauge in knitting
11. Don’t put away your knitting …
If you keep your knitting out, easy to see and easy to grab when you have a couple of minutes to spare, you will knit more. If you put it away in a drawer somewhere there is a risk that it is going to stay in there.
12. … But do put away your phone, tablet, and laptop
These three are a bunch of time wasters. You get a notification from a social media app, then 20 minutes have gone to … well, nothing.
Take the distraction away and concentrate on your favorite thing instead. The one that gives calmness, warmth, and beauty to your life. How could you say no to that?!
13. Plan your projects to make more time to knit
Planning your projects can seem a bit time-consuming. But, if you have a plan, and stick to it, you will actually save time wondering what and how to do next.
It’s fun and inspiring to make plans! Make a few sketches, write down some notes and test some colors before starting up a new project.
So, plan, take notes as you go and keep everything organized in a Knitting journal, notebook or binder.
Reading tips:
––> If you are anything like me, you’re a sucker for pretty lists and planning sheets! In that case, that a look at this post, there are some freebies for your project planning in there …
––> If you want to read more about planning, this one’s for you: How to plan a knitting project – a helpful guide
14. Organize your stuff!
Stop spending time running around searching for that cable for your interchangeable needles. Or trying to find stitch markers that are scattered all over your home.
I have all my yarn in baskets on a bookshelf. My straight needles and crochet hooks live in a Pringles tube on the same shelf. My button collection lies in the same sorting box my grandmother used. (And many of the buttons in it are hers.)
The things I use all the time lies in a basket. My interchangeable needles are in the case I bought them in. That case also has room for markers, tape measure, scissors, and other notions. My ongoing projects, I always have a couple, has their place in this basket too.
I wish I had a fancy knitting project bag to put all my stuff in. I actually have a few on my wishlist since I went on a window-shopping spree at Amazon recently.
Curious about what I found? You can see it all here: Best Knitting Project Bags found on Amazon!