How I Keep Track of My Personal Knitting Projects

April 8, 2024

As I've gotten more and more into knitting, I've found that my list of projects I want to complete keeps growing! From patterns I want to design, to clothing I want to knit for myself, to gifts for my loved ones, there's an overwhelming amount of knitting I want to work on at any given time.

My first clothing item I ever made for myself!

If you're anything like me, you may identify strongly with these personality traits:

You have a long list of projects you want to make, and it keeps growing
You forget how many different WIPS you are working on at any moment
You have different projects for different spaces

Large home project- a blanket, dress, or thick sweater that is too unwieldy to move from either the couch or bed
Beanie patterns - a couple of beanies you're designing that just doesn't quite fit right yet
Small projects - repetitive pattern shawls or beanies to take to crafting parties
Work sock - fingering weight sock to have in my work bag in case of knitting emergency

Zelda investigates my first knit sock...

You get excited about new patterns or project possibilities but aren't 100% sure you will make it
You make lots of minor changes to written patterns to suit your fit, style, and more
Other fiber artists are always asking you what yarn you are knitting with or wearing
You prefer to use Ravelry to track pattern designs and admire designers, rather than actual projects

Looking for quick and beginner-friendly projects? Check out my Knitting Patterns!

I love working on projects at a coffee shop, where I drink tea :)

If even half of these speak to you, I promise that having a specific project tracker helps me work through my personal project list. I created myself a simple Google Sheet to help me keep track of my knitting goals! My project tracker helps me instantly know:

what project I'm making
what yarn I'm using
what colorway I'm using
the total cost of the project
any modifications I've made

For example, if I were making a Swirlpool Beanie in Chronicles of Cheryl Super Bulky yarn, this is what I would include in my project tracker about the pattern and designer:

I like to include specifics about the yarn I am using, including the brand, name, weight, and colorway. This way, I can either compare this information with the yarn intended by the pattern designer, share this with other fiber artists, or make the same pattern again.

I also include the number of skeins I used, and any modifications I made in the notes section. Often, this includes adding or removing stitches from different sections of patterns for better fit, dye instructions for specific colorways I hand-dyed myself, or care instructions.