I recently was interviewed for a feature in Simply Crochet Magazine, and while on the call, the idea for this blog post popped into my head. I thought it would be fun to share my humble beginnings with everyone, and maybe make y'all feel better about your first projects.
I originally wanted to learn how to crochet because of all of the cute amigurumi projects I kept seeing on deviantart, which is pretty funny, since I kind of hate crocheting amigurumi now. But I do still enjoy looking at it!
Now, this shouldn't be too surprising, considering I'm a professional pattern designer, but I didn't follow any patterns when I first started crocheting. I learned how to do stitches and how to increase and decrease, and then just did my own thing! Followed my own (wonky, uneven) patterns! That's kind of always how I've tackled new hobbies; I learn a few basics, then go at it! No rules! Chaotic? Yes. Educational? Extremely!
In my defense, in 2008 there weren't a whole lot of video patterns online anyway, they were all written, so it was necessary to learn what all of the individual elements were first!
I'm sharing my first 15 crochet projects, and they were all made in 2008 and 2009, back when we had to use digital cameras, and unless you had immaculate lighting, or actual skills, the photos always came out grainy and blurry.
So with that said, let me introduce you to my very first project. Miss Strawberry L Bulb.
After lots of practice and frogging, I finally turned my stitch knowledge into...this. Truly she was a work of art. I even blushed the cheeks! Who needs arms or legs when you can just make a vaguely light bulb shaped creature and call it a day? I mean, it has a duck button. And green felt eyeliner. And a cape!! C'mon!
My second crochet project was a heart broken bear.
Clearly I was still working on keeping an even tension lol. But while I was only going through the back loops for MOST of the project, for some the arms are clearly crocheted through both loops?? But the first rounds are through the back loops...
You know what? Tt's called art. Don't question my artistic genius. But you CAN question the color choices. A cool blue with a warm blue was a horrendous decision, though I actually remember thinking that exact thought at the time. But I was 19 and had no money, so I used the thrift store yarn (and probably grandmother-gifted) I had.
My third project was an elephant. Amelia the elephant.
Honestly, she's not bad! It was quite an undertaking, figuring out how to shape all the pieces. Again, I never looked at a single pattern, so this was all trial and error. I had actually opened my etsy shop earlier in the year, before I started learning how to crochet, and somehow I decided this was worthy of trying to sell. Yes, this elephant was available to purchase in my etsy shop.
No, it never sold. I know, you're shocked.
My next two projects were...I guess I'd call them decorative neckwear? Haha. It was an experimental time. And I had absolutely NO idea how to photograph these. Photographing yourself was not the norm back in 2008, unless you were a scene kid on myspace. The idea of showing my face on the internet back then was horrifying, so I did what I could. I love how you absolutely cannot tell what you're looking at with the pink thing. But there were green, iridescent, tear-shaped beads hanging from gold chains, and that was actually kinda great? I dunno, I think I was on to something. I remember the pink yarn was really soft, too.
My next project sent me back to amigurumi.
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I made this octopus for my mom's birthday in 2009, and then she made a little chef's hat for it, along with a clay wooden spoon. She already had the clay pie, which was a needle minder. My stitch tension was actually really good here, after close to a year of crocheting. I definitely spent more time crocheting and frogging during my first year than finishing projects. Also, those first two photos...are definitely on top of the toilet! Haha omg. It was the only white background in the house. Help 🤣. It was a different time.
My mom definitely still has this dude chilling on her computer desk.
But don't worry, because I managed to put together some kind of a backdrop for my next project!
Look, it's not a toilet! 🤣 So I made this little cupcake, with hidden storage, and even put it in a cake box! You guys, I sold this in my etsy shop. Incredible. Somebody owns (or owned) this. They paid money for it; $18 to be exact. Though it says "ON SALE" in the title, so I'm not sure what I originally asked for.
I recall buying vanilla scented oil and dabbing a few drops onto it.
Soon after I made this birthday cake! I actually made this intending to give it to a friend, but then I never did. So it sat around in my closet for years instead. But she's pretty cute, I like how I did the flames.
And now for something completely different! This wild hamster I named Lucy was crocheted with Lion Brand's Homespun yarn and I'm not gonna lie, I still love Homespun. If Homespun has no fans, it means I'm dead. Oh, and guess what? She sold for $14 on etsy. Even though I probably spent like 3 hours making it...
Anyway, you wanna read the etsy listing description?! Cuz I got it!
Lucy's always been a bit of an oddball. No one's quite sure why she does the things she does. ...and no one wants to know.
Approx 6" tall.
Due to her unstable nature, Lucy may require a bit of counseling for her to stand up on her own.
Wool felt and acrylic yarn.
Flower and teeth may be yanked off by rough-playing children.
Wow, etsy descriptions used to be so...simple. I actually sold this one about a month before the cupcake from earlier sold. Clearly the market for odd hamsters was stronger than cupcakes.
Speaking of cupcakes...
I'm pretty sure I copied this idea from someone else. Possibly a drawing. I definitely listed this for sale, but I never had any success selling it. I guess because cartoon zombie green isn't a super in-demand color for a cupcake rabbit or something? Weird. But my crochet stitches look really good here. I'd say this is definitely at a proper sellable level, finally.
At some point, I started a blanket. No, I never finished the blanket. Does anyone ever finish their first blanket? I mean, probably, but this was ugly, so I didn't want to finish it. I ended up pulling out the black stitches and gave away a bag full of squares to a thrift store lol. Did they ever go out on the shelf, or did they just get thrown away by the employees? Who knows. This was Lion Brand's Wool Ease Thick n Quick though, so it certainly wasn't a cheap project. But I was 20, and it was my mom's money. Sorry, mom. This apology is only 14 years late, no big deal.
My next project was using up yarn scraps to make christmas ornaments. And they're extremely ugly lol. Does my mom still have these? Probably.
Amineko! This was the first actual pattern I ever followed, something like a year and a half after I first learned how to crochet. Nothing about that sentence is normal lol.
I even crocheted him a little tea cup. Because obviously my japanese cat needed tea.
But after making one in worsted weight, I decided to make a bigger one using super bulky yarn!
Bro came out humongous! It's 2 feet long! My mom has both of them and sometimes dresses them up for christmas. They're basically her grandchildren. And she's not getting any human ones, so she needs them.
And here's the final project of this post, number 15, and the very first pattern I ever wrote down! My long ears rabbit. I did list them for sale, but they sadly never sold. I remember really hoping this would be *the product* for me. You know, the one that would launch my handmade career. But clearly that wasn't the case lol. RIP 20 year old me dreams. I had absolutely zero thoughts of making patterns for other people at this point, my dream was to have a successful shop selling physical goods. Never would have guessed back then that I'd actually be a pattern designer. And that I'd end up disliking plushie making!
And with that, we've reached the end of the post, I hope you enjoyed seeing all of my early crochet projects as much as I enjoyed talking about them.
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