Crochet? Huh?

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What the heck is Crochet?

Aaaah, crochet. You're probably wondering what is it, how do I do it, why do you care, and if you don't care you've stopped reading after the title.

Crochet is the art of tangling some string into cool stuff. Pretty simple really! The differences between knitting (which most people know) and crochet is the fact that knitting uses two needles, while crochet uses one hook.

Making dolls using crochet/knitting is called Amigurumi, which literally means "crocheted/knitted doll"- but it sounds way cooler so from now on I'll be using that term. And you should too, so you sound informed and in the loop.

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So...why do you tangle yarn into stuff?

Excellent question!
I dunno, I just like it.

As mentioned in my About Me post, I started it as a way to make something tangible. I spent all of my days working then playing games, and after a while I just needed some way to feel like I was actually 'doing something.'
Since then, I've just kept going with it and now it's more I just really really like it.

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I wish to tangle yarn into stuff too!

Oh you most certainly should, or tangle yarn with two needles, or make plushies with fabric you cut up and string together!

I highly encourage everyone to take up a hobby that you create with. The utter feeling of pride and accomplishment when you hold an item you made in your hands is something most people won't experience. Appreciating your hard work can help appreciating yourself in general, as it does for me. If you end up loving crafting and DIY like I did, you can make cash doing something you love, which is always a bonus!

I personally went to a local craft store, bought a crochet for beginners book, and started from there. If you're more of a video person, there is a plethora of video tutorials on YouTube and lots of pictures on websites. It's super easy to get started on most craft hobbies using Google, just search for what you want, and read/watch everything!

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But...how do I make really cool, original stuff?

I actually don't have any tips for making cool, original stuff, or how things are supposed to look, or really much of anything. What I learned when making my own items isn't how to make the best stuff, it's how to make stuff using my own creativity and my own ideas.

It's important to know that everyone starts somewhere, and every single person has their own creativity.
I started by working on pre-made patterns and learning exactly how I crochet as a person.

Every person makes items differently, based on their tension (how you hold the fabric/yarn), what hooks/machines you use (they're all slightly different), how firm/soft you want the stuffing (some like squishy some like firm), and how you want it to look.


Guides and tutorials and DIY can help you learn the skills and techniques, you also need to learn your own personal quirks (i.e I hold yarn really tightly) and work with it to get the best outcome. Sometimes you won't have the correct machine, or the correct hook, or you hold the yarn too loosely, or you have different stuffing. It's all about getting creative with what you have and what your quirks are.

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