Absolutely not! There are no hard and fast rules in knitting that say you must follow a pattern to the letter (or the stitch!). I often find myself wanting to start a new project, so I search through all of the patterns in my collection to find just the right one. Unfortunately, it is rare that I’ll find the exact pattern I have in mind for my current knitting mood. I am not yet at the point in my knitting journey where I can create a complicated garment pattern from scratch. I may never be at that point.
What I can do is modify the patterns I’ve purchased or combine elements from multiple patterns. For example, I’d like to start on a simple, crew neck sweater. I’m sure I have at least 10 patterns of that type, but the only one with the construction type that I’m looking for (knit from the top down, in the round) perhaps is an oversize sweater but I want one that is more fitted or has a lot less ease. I can still use that oversize sweater pattern not only by knitting a smaller size, but I could also add bust and waist shaping, add decreases to the sleeves, shorten the overall length, etc.
I also tend to use different techniques when I have a preference for things like the cast off method. I really don’t like the more complicated Italian Bind-Off so I will use the Stretchy Bind-Off for just about every stretchy edge needed. The stretchy bind-off looks similar enough for my taste and I find it to be much quicker and easier.
Need to cast on stitches for the underarm of a sleeve? You don’t have to use the backwards loop cast on called for in the pattern. I find the backwards loop to be a bit finicky when I have to knit into those stitches during the following round. Some alternatives would be the cable cast on or the knit cast on. They give you a more stable loop for you to knit into on the next row.
Whatever type of project you’re working on, you can choose the methods that you like and that give you the result you’re looking for. Use knitting designer’s patterns as a starting off point and make it your own. As I build out more content on this site, I will add more and more tutorials the multitude of alternate methods to make it easier for you hone your knitting skills.