Ripped Crochet Project... Now What?

Having a crochet project ripped apart can be devastating. For some people, it could be a project in honour of a loved one who has passed away. So it hurts even more when the item is ripped.

Leave me thoughts below if you have run into this issue and what you have done to either repair or let something you cherished go...

The type of rip matters most in determining whether you can actually repair it. Below, Sarah from Repeat Crafter Me demonstrates fixing her friend's blanket for the child, but luckily for Sarah, the rip is along an area that can be stitched back together. She will show you how.

My ripped granny square above is ripped across several rounds. Depending on the age of the project, you may not have the yarn to match the damaged section. In the case above, there's no yardage missing, but unwinding this and dealing with the yarn breaks does lead to being short on yarn, as you will need extra for weaving the tails where the cuts were.

How to Repair Ripped Crochet Tutorial

In some cases, people can have ripped items, and complete sections are missing. Even if you unravelled the yarn, you would not have enough yarn to repair the item to make it like it was.

What To Do?

You may have to accept that the item isn't repairable. Too much damage has been done, but it's too valuable to toss away.

Anncedote

My brother had a baby blanket that my mother had made, and that went everywhere with him. It got so ripped and torn before he was old enough to let go of the blanket. So giving him a new blanket wasn't an option.

It was a quilted blanket, and come hell or high water, he wasn't going to part with it. Mom got innovative with the concept to make him another baby quilt. He watched her make it as he wasn't old enough to be in school. Inside the new quilt, she placed his existing quilt as batting. This way, he knew it was still around, but inside the latest quilt. Out of view, knowing it was there, gave him the comfort he needed to move on.

Crochet Thought

1. You can find or figure out what the original pattern was and duplicate it with a brand-new blanket to replace it. That's the easiest thing to do. For some, this is not an option.

2. You could unravel the damaged blanket, crochet a new one, and turn the unravelled yarn into tassels, pom poms, or even enough to use as a border around the new item to memorialize it. Hence, the yarn used isn't completely gone.

3. Suppose you have a wrecked granny square blanket. Maybe see if you can salvage some squares from the existing blanket, and when you make new squares, mix in the existing squares with the next ones, so it's not 100% new but a mix of whoever made it and your own stitchwork.

4. You can crochet motifs that don't match and lay one over the repair. Use fabric glue to prevent the yarn from unravelling, and place the motifs on the front and back to hide it completely.

5. You can salvage a piece of the wrecked item and cut it to display in a shadow box or scrapbook. Pair it with a picture, possibly one you have, of when the item wasn't wrecked and put it together as a memory keepsake.

Lucy Has Ideas For Repair

Lucy highlights that magic circles in the granny squares can fall apart if the crocheter hasn't secured the magic circle with a tapestry needle. I have seen people who have done whole blankets.

Sometimes you have to let go of the past, too. Some items may be beyond repair, smell or have lost their strength so that the yarn is literally falling apart.

Some people hold their project in their hands... think of the person who made it, and have a final word with the item, and place it in the garbage. It wasn't their first choice, but it may feel like a final release of holding onto something that needs to be let go.

Personal Note

Each person is unique; you have to decide what works for you. Having come out of the closet in my late 20s and realizing that my family dynamic was destroyed, I came to terms with my entire childhood of keepsakes I had and tossed them into the dumpster to let it go and move on with my life. Yes, sometimes I regret it, but for the most part, I don't need to prove I had something to say; I did.

I had a system failure, and 7 years of my life in photographs are missing. I don't love the fact, but I had to learn that it wasn't anything I could do to retrieve my hardcore memories. I had to ease myself off my self-pressure of regretting losing my photographs. It's been 10 years now, and I cannot remember what photos are missing anymore. I moved on, and I have to remain living in the present.

I'm also not the type of person to post photos of people who have passed away and wish them a Merry Christmas or Happy Birthday.

Hanging Onto The Past

I have to keep moving forward, as I tend to get stuck in the past.

Regret and much more can upend my life. I have been removed so far from my family, I don't recall my siblings or parents' birthdays any longer. I know I have a brother, but I don't have very many memories of him growing up with me. I know he was an essential part of my life, and memories of my sister are nearly gone.

The most memorable memories I carry are about my mother. She exuded so much empathy and compassion for others. My dad, being the logical guy, retained his practical nature of strategy and finances.

Truth be told, if any of the family members have passed away or are passing away, I probably will never know, but being so far removed, it won't make a difference, as I have had to learn to let go. Attending a funeral or memorial won't make any sense, as I have been gone too long to know who they were beyond my childhood memories. It may make me sound cold, but I had to learn to get on with my life or let life swallow me up in defeat.

Don't get stuck in the past... It's okay to let things go. In the end, every one of us has to let go as our time expires, and in a generation or two, people may know our names, but eventually, as with many of our past, we were just here, and our memories will be gone entirely. I can say this easily because I didn't have children to pass anything along to, nor am I worried about being remembered when all is said and done. I hope that people who may remember me move on and enjoy their lives, without holding onto anything that prevents them from living their best lives.