How To Get Your Crochet Motivation Back

Hobbies are kind of weird. You start doing them because you want to do them and you enjoy them but then at some stage down the track it sometimes gets hard to keep going with them. Like when you lose your crochet motivation. Have you ever had that happen before? When all of a sudden crocheting starts to feel a bit like a chore?

I love crocheting and I rarely have a day where I don’t feel like it but very occasionally, I’ll go to pick up my hook and for some reason it just won’t flow. My crochet motivation has just left the building. The feeling is kind of hard to explain because I want to do it, I just don’t have my cro-jo (crochet mojo) on. I know heaps of other crocheters who have had the same thing happen. You really want to get back into it but for some reason you just can’t bring yourself to pick up a hook again. If you really want to get your crochet motivation back, here are a few things that might just help.

1. Try a different project

One of the reasons why you might be hating crocheting a little bit is because you actually just hate all the projects you’re working on. That’s totally fine. Sometimes a project might just be a bit out of your skills range, not as enjoyable as you thought it was going to be or you might even just be hating your colour combination. The best thing to do is pop all of your current projects away where you can’t see them and start something fresh. Starting something new will replenish your love for the craft. I have a half finished c2c graphgan I spent weeks on until I reached a road block and I had to just put it away. It was a gift for a new born baby who is almost a year old now. I’m not going to touch again until I’m mentally prepared to deal with it, until then I’m working on other things. My cro-jo has returned and the grief-causing project can stay in the naughty drawer and think about what it’s done.

2. Try a project you’ve already made before

Sometimes you need to do something familiar. Stress or grief can cause people to totally lose their crochet motivation. Even after you’re feeling better, picking up that hook again can be a bit of a mental block. If this is you, try making something you’ve already made before – a tried and true favourite! Like a simple beanie you’ve made a few times before or a standard baby blanket you’ve whipped up in the past. The less you have to think, the easier it will be to slip back into your old crocheting routine.

3. Make something you have a  reason to make

This is going to sound a bit existential but a lack of purpose is a huge catalyst for losing your cro-jo. I struggle a lot with doing anything that seems pointless so I always like to know exactly why I’m making something when I’m making it. Sometimes it’s a design for some students, sometimes it’s a present for a friend or sometimes it’s just something for me. I find it very difficult to finish projects unless I know exactly why I’m making it, so have a think and see if this might be the reason why you’ve lost your crochet motivation.

4. Buy some beautiful yarn

This is not always the perfect solution and I’m a big fan of stash busting but maybe you just need some inspiring new materials to kick start your inspiration. You can only use this in dire circumstances though – I don’t know too many crocheters who don’t have a big stash of gorgeous yarn hidden away already! If your budget won’t allow for new yarn, go digging through your stash and challenge yourself to make something with the materials you already have. You never know what beauties you might find at the bottom of your yarn cupboard/tub/cart.

5. Set a time and place to get back into the rhythm

Sometimes you just need boundaries and routine to get you back into it. Maybe start your crochet journey again with making some granny squares each evening. Just spend 20 minutes making a granny square each night in front of the TV and sew them into a lapgan for a mate. As long as you set the time aside and use it, you’ll easily get back into the swing of it.

Have you ever lost your cro-jo? How did you get it back?