I really think you should have duplicate stitch in your bag of tricks. ⁠

It’s by far my favorite way to mend thin spots in my knitting. Once you get the hang of it, you can even use it to repair actual holes (I’ve got an old blog post where I do just that). It’ll help you understand how knitted fabric works (and having that level of understanding of how the fabric goes together makes you So Much Better at catching and fixing mistakes in your knitting). ⁠

But just as importantly, it lets you add all sorts of decorations on to your knitting at the end. Like, say, a wee fuzzy belly. In case your knitting might occasionally be in need of a wee fuzzy belly. Or maybe a face. Because these things happen…