The Bravery Test of the Crafting World 🧶
I just played a risky little game. I really wanted a new, quick hat. After rummaging through my yarn stash, I found just the skein I wanted. Instead of being a responsible knitter (weighing my yarn and checking my instructions) I decided to wing it and play yarn chicken. It looked like enough…
I started knitting my hat and it was looking great. I made it nearly to the top, the whole time feeling certain that this would be just enough yarn. But, sadly, I guessed wrong. I ran out just before the top of the hat. 😢
There wasn’t time to go to town for more yarn, and I didn’t want to scrap the hat. So I started digging through my project stash.
I found a rogue boot cuff with no match. But it was the same yarn. So I unraveled it and tied it into the hat project with a magic knot.
That little, lonely boot cuff, made of matching yarn gave me just enough to finish my hat. That is the heart of yarn chicken: it’s the most reckless game a knitter can play. Sometimes, it is a quiet little win and a happy dance. 💃 Other times, you’ll lose the round and have to pivot.
What is Yarn Chicken?
Hint: it has everything to do with yarn and nothing to do with chickens.
If you have ever heard of the old game of chicken, where teenagers would drive their cars straight at each other to see who would swerve first, then you already get the idea. Yarn chicken is the slower, quieter, far more practical version of that reckless dare. No engines. No headlights. It’s not life and death. It’s just you, your project, and a rapidly shrinking skein of yarn.
Yarn chicken is when you size up your skein with nothing but your gut and a hopeful squint. You skip the scale, bypass the calculator, and knit like you’ve got enough. Because maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. But you’re not stopping to find out. It is part grit, part gamble, and all heart.
Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. That is the game.
Why Play Yarn Chicken?
Because you just want to see if you can pull it off. You’re in a groove, you’re not interested in stopping to do math, and that half-used skein looks promising enough. Yarn chicken gives you a chance to lean into instinct instead of spreadsheets.
It is not laziness or forgetfulness. It’s choosing motion over caution, momentum over planning. And yes, once in a while, it’s just more fun this way.
You learn a lot when you play yarn chicken: about yarn, about rhythm, and about how far a single stitch can stretch when it really matters.
When You Lose
Losing at yarn chicken does not always mean starting over. It might mean improvising. You might unravel something else, work in a stripe, or change the ending of the pattern slightly to use what you have got.
It is not failure. It is flexibility.
If You Want to Avoid It
You can avoid yarn chicken if you:
- Weigh your yarn before you begin a section.
- Compare the yardage used in earlier parts of the pattern.
- Use patterns with detailed estimates (I include them in all my patterns).
- Swatch and plan precisely.
All of that works. I even recommend it most of the time.
But every now and then, if it feels right, I still play.
To Play or Not to Play
Yarn chicken is not about being careless. It is about reading the yarn, trusting your gut, and being willing to shift gears when the skein runs short. It is about choosing progress over perfection and being bold enough to see how far one strand will take you.
I have lost my fair share. I have torn out rows, patched in stripes, and unraveled forgotten cuffs. But I have also finished with half an inch to spare and felt like a champion.
That’s why I still play.
Looking for patterns you can finish without a gamble?
🥳 Ribbed Chunky Hat Free Knitting Pattern: Knit the Hat in this Post (substitute Wool Ease Thick & Quick by Lion Brand Yarn “Carousel” affiliate link)
🥾 Easy Chunky Knit Boot Cuffs Free Knitting Pattern: Make a set of adorable mini leg warmers.
🧶 Explore all the Knitting Patterns written by Liz Chandler: Find something you will love to make.
Don’t Miss a Stitch! 🧶
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