Shawl Every Day 2021 - Day 18 - Rework

Everyone hates rework. Having to undo a bunch of work to fix a stupid mistake can be so frustrating. There’s always the questions of “Will anyone notice?” “Will it bother me later?” “ How much of it do I have to redo?” Add to that the feeling that you have wasted time by doing it the wrong way, then taking it out, then doing it the right away again.

When I’m knitting and I find a mistake I made a ways back, I will almost always rip it out and redo it. I would much rather spend the effort now in order to have a better finished product. Even if it takes longer, it will be worth it to me to have the item looking professional and neat.

3D printing is a great example of intentional rework. I may not always know it will turn out right the first time, but I print it anyway, learn from the mistakes, and make another one. This sort of iterative design is more of a learning process than truly throwing time away.

What do you think about rework? Is it frustrating? How big of a mistake does it have to be before you fix it?

Shawl pattern is Bermuda Scarf by Ilga Leja