Just curious. I crochet a bunch, newly including Tunisian crochet. Tried knitting but that shit’s hard, and slowwww. Might use my knitting skills for super small stuff like washcloths, but I doubt I’d have the patience to create anything bigger.

Crochet, though. Crochet is dope. My favorite thing to make is scarves. They’re nice and easy but useful and usually don’t require you to count stitches like hats and other circular things do. I donate a lot of scarves and the occasional hat or blanket to local mutual aid organizations.

I may post some pics of my crochet later on, but atm I’m at work and can’t do so.

  • Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! I picked up knitting back in 2013 and crochet shortly after and they are basically my life.

    It’s great knowing both as you can pick whichever craft makes most sense for the thing you want to make. But admittedly knitting does seem to be playing second fiddle to crochet for me atm, there’s no getting round the fact that crochet is just way way faster. I’ll always love to knit socks though, they’re the perfect travel project and I try to always have a pair on the go!

    Currently working on two lacy crochet tops, both in black yarn because I’m sick of making things out of the pretty yarns but then never actually wearing them. My heart is black and I’m tired of pretending it’s not!

  • I just started to learn how to crochet during the past couple of weeks! I’m afraid I’ll end up distracted by a different craft soon though, I have trouble staying motivated… After a couple mini projects I started making a triangle shawl, but I lost my stitch count on the 7th row and I haven’t found the energy to go back and figure it out yet :')

    I’ve also tried other fiber crafts in the last year: friendship bracelets, embroidery and shuttle tatting. Weaving and spinning are the next ones on my list to try. Maybe bobbin lace too, one day.

      • I do! There’s several different channels on youtube with instructions, so you can pick what works best for your brain. I’ll link some videos from a couple different creators below, but I recommend looking at their channels’ playlists too. They all have put together very good playlists to get you started:

        • Alex’s Innovations. Basic knots for friendship bracelets: In case you need a refresher on what the knots are. Alex has a lot of neat pattern tutorials, and a great compendium video on all the ways you can start and end your bracelet.

        • KnotLikeTheOthers. Easy Chevron Tutorial with tear drop loop: this was one of the first tutorials I tried out, the presenter goes slow and doesn’t speed up the footage for most of the process iirc. The chevron is a great design for getting the hang of the process, and it’s easier to keep neat than candy-stripe bracelets. Jenn is amazing at alpha bracelets, which look like pixel art and can be used as bookmarks or wall deco etc.

        • Masha’s Knots. Beginner’s guide to bracelets: Very comprehensive video on pretty much all the basic stuff, but it can potentially get overwhelming. Masha has incredibly detailed explanations of all the techniques, and a ton of tutorials for really gorgeous patterns.

        These are my favorites but there’s more, like Megan Morris and kinseyb. Apart from yt, there’s also a vibrant community to be found at BraceletBook and friendship-bracelets.net. They’re sites where people publish patterns and there’s an accompanying forum section too for discussions.

        And now a couple extras:

        • adjustable loop closures - a quick and dirty way to make your bracelets adjustable, i.e easier to take off. Not the prettiest or long lasting one, but good to get started.
        • How to tie the shaped frog bracelet - shaped bracelets look really cool, and this is one of the few videos I’ve found showing how to do this technique. It can be applied to other patterns too, not just the frog.
    • I’ve been playing with spinning using a Turkish drop-spindle. It’s really fun! I have no grace nor elegance and my yarn is full of slubs, but making single ply and double ply with the drop spindle has taught me so much about yarn in general.

      Take a look at “Snyder Spindles”. They have many different kinds and they are well made. https://www.snyderspindles.com/ There are also lots of instructions out there on how to make your own.

      • Thanks for the tip and the encouragement! Drop spindles do look a lot more accessible than the big spinning wheels, and I have some wool roving left from my attempt at felting. Maybe I can try spinning sooner rather than later

      • Of course! Cross stitch is like the pixel art version of embroidery. Assuming you’ll be working off of a pattern, the general process is that you’ll purchase either a kit (which has all of the supplies you’ll need) or just a pattern of what you want to make.

        Then you need to gather materials - if you bought a kit, you can skip this part. The pattern will tell you all of the colors you need - usually these are indicated by one of the major embroidery floss brands such as DMC or Anchor, and each color has its own number or other classification. For example, for my current project I need two colors, DMC 799 (which is a pale blue), and DMC 3750, a dark blue. You will also need a fabric to stitch into. For my current project I am using linen, but there are other options such as Aida (a fabric specifically for cross stitch). You’ll want a blunt needle as well, usually called tapestry needles. Depending on your project size 24-28 are common for cross stitch (the larger the number the smaller the needle). If you have a local needlework shop it’s great to shop there, otherwise I buy my supplies at 123stitch.com (in the USA).

        The pattern will be on gridded paper, with symbols corresponding to each color. Each symbol in the grid represents making a little “x” with that color in that spot. There are apps to keep track of where you are in the pattern - Markup R-XP on iOS and Pattern Keeper on Android are the major players, but I’ve also heard of people using a knitting pattern tracker as well, but I forget the name of it. Or you can print out the pattern on paper and highlight or cross out squares as you finish them.

        And then eventually you have a picture! I don’t know if you can post pictures in replies in beehaw, so I posted one of my recent finishes and my current WIP on mastadon: https://mastodon.social/@Kamirose/110471012242274125

        • Sounds really cool! I’ll look into it a little more so I can decide if it’s for me. I love the stuff you’ve made! Your WIP in particular is just gorgeous. Also, lol @ that needle holder thingy.

          • Haha yeah that’s my favorite needle minder. I have another one from the same person that says “don’t start another project” that I use on the projects I shouldn’t have started.

  • In theory, I do both! In reality, I get halfway through a project and give up. Though I did successfully make a Sunkern amigurumi once, fully knit one entire sock, and a few scrubbies for my dishes. Currently I’m distracted by sewing and DIY renovations, though.

  • I used to crochet. I got so into it, I was doing it on a daily basis. I tried to start an etsy store but it didn’t really take off.

    My avatar is actually the first three things I crocheted when I was learning, IIRC. I messed up the round on the purple egg so it’s a bit lopsided. Gave it a sad face, but it’s so cute!

    I mostly made amigurumi (crocheted/knitted plushies), then I expanded into wearables like arm-warmers, toque, scarves. I made some pouches. One for a deck of tarot cards I own. Another for my ebook reader. I think the pouch for my ebook reader was the last thing I made.

    I need to get back into it again!

  • Late to this post, I love crochet! I haven’t had much time to do it recently but there’s a simple scarf/shawl that I’ve been been ticking away on for about two years haha. I’m looking forward to having some more free time soon and getting back into it in earnest. Can’t wait to see everyone’s projects here :)

  • I knit! Mostly sweaters and socks, some hats and shawls. I have a sock project in a little zipped bag that I can take with me. Socks don’t need much space, and they are sort of immediate gratification since they don’t take long.

  • Yay! I actually came here to see if there were any discussions around fiber arts. I’m a knitter, but love all fiber arts. I want to learn to hand die yarn with naturally grown dye. We will see. Here is one of my many WIP’s (work in progress)
    The Wishbone sweater Here is the project link on Ravelry.

    I would love to see any WIP’s you guys have going on right now!

    • Whoa, that’s gorgeous! I’ll bet it’s hard as fuck to make too. Much respect.

      I happen to have a little wool that I’m thinking of turning into yarn, but I don’t know very much about the process. Maybe I’ll get into yarn-making too, as if I needed another craft haha.

      I’ll post my WIPs a little later.