Inspired Gifts to Crochet

The best crochet projects will inspire you on a personal level and will get you excited to work on them. If you're not itching to pick up your yarn and hook to work on your project, then you've picked the wrong one. Moreover, if your project doesn't inspire you, it's not going to inspire the person you're making your project for. Your goal, therefore, is to choose hooks, yarn and a pattern which all inspire you to do something more with your project. When the project inspires you, it's more likely to inspire the person who will be receiving it, and that's what you're looking for when you give a gift, isn't it?

This page will give you some suggestions for the various different people on your gifting list. You should be able to find something here that inspires you, so do take a moment to filter through the suggested items on this page until you find something you think you'll enjoy making.

The page also contains tips for keeping your project interesting for you and for making the best choices in materials and supplies. With luck, this will provide you with an exciting project that inspires both you and your recipient!

Crochet takes various different forms. Not only can you choose among a number of different types of crochet stitches, but you also have a choice of standard crochet, afghan crochet and double-ended crochet.

Take some time to get to know these different types of crochet, because each of them has a unique use and results in a different finished product. Once you know the different types of crochet, you can choose the one which most inspires you.

Like any craft, crochet should make you feel good. It should relax you and be a hobby which you enjoy. If you find that you don't enjoy one type of crochet, try one of the others.

Crochet can also be done in one piece, (granny) squares, hexagons, or strips. All but the first of these must be in one way or another pieced together (most can be pieced by crocheting pieces together instead of sewing, however). If you're new to crochet, you'll probably find that one of these methods appeals to you more than the others.

For example, I can't stand weaving in ends, and therefore tend to prefer to work with something stitched in a sincle color and in one piece over working with grannies.

If the project bores you or you simply don't like it, you probably won't finish it. Even if you do finish something you don't enjoy, your lack of enthusiasm will show in the finished product. Choose something you enjoy and save energy!

Unless you've been doing needle crafts for quite some time, "hand-feel" is somewhat difficult to explain. The materials you crochet with should feel good in your hands.

If your hope is to provide your recipient with a beautiful finished project that is infused with your own good spirit (as any hand-made gift should be), then you should do whatever you can to make the journey enjoyable or you.

Choose high quality products: It will benefit not only the recipient of your gift, but you as well when you have the right "hand feel" in the yarn or in your crochet hook.

Although crochet afghans may be said to have a "retro" style, they still make great gifts for everyone on your list, from baby to grandpa.

Afghans can be crocheted using a number of different techniques, from granny squares to straight crocheting across the piece back and forth. They can even be crocheted in the round to create a ripple-effect square!

The great thing about afghans as a crocheted gift is that they can be crocheted by someone who has no ability to shape a piece or by someone who has a lot of experience and is looking for a challenge. Change the colors up and make an afghan more masculine for your man or cute for your little girl (or boy!).

If you're looking for great crocheted afghan patterns, they mostly come from magazines. You can, of course, find some great patterns on Ravelry. The list of links to the right takes you to Ravelry pages for the patterns.

All afghan patterns listed to the right and below are stitched from free crochet afghan patterns. These patterns are provided online and you won't have to go digging through Ebay to find back issues of magazines.

Amigurumi requires quite a bit of shaping and is recommended for people who know crochet well. Beginners will likely become frustrated with the amount of shaping required. Additionally, amigurumi works best at high gauge (stitches per inch) so that you don't have stuffing coming through the body.

Not all crocheted toys are amigurumi. The links provided in this section have been broken down into two sections: Free Amigurumi patterns and paid toy patterns that are pieced together after crocheting.

If you're looking for excellent crochet patterns for toys, you'll find a selection of books (available on Amazon) as well.

The African Flower (or paperweight granny) is a very trendy crochet motif right now. Its applications are virtually endless, as the hexagonal shape lends itself to 3D designs.

To learn how to do the African Flower design, check out the video to the right. It will guide you through the process so that you can make your own for use on the various different projects on this page.

Several of the projects on this page require the African Flower motifs, and you can always join them into a beautiful afghan as well!