10 Ideas to Stay Inspired During a Crafting Hiatus

Blogger and author Kathryn Vercillo is an expert in the area of using crafting to heal, having researched the topic extensively for her book Crochet Saved My Life. This is part 4 in her 6-part series for us on the topic of yarncraft health. Read her previous blog posts on the Lion Brand Notebook here.

Many knitters and crocheters craft every single day. It’s part of a good total wellness plan for a lot of us. But what happens if you have to take a crafting hiatus? An injury, crafting burnout (similar to writers’ block) and health issues can force an unwanted break from knitting and crochet. Here are ten ideas for staying inspired in the event that this occurs to you.

1. Organize photos of your past craft work.

This can be a great way to celebrate the work that you’ve already done. It will remind you of all of the inspiration you’ve had in the past and get you re-excited for the time that you can pick up hooks and needles again. A big photo album works as does a blog or Facebook albums.

2. Start a craft inspiration file.

This may be in a journal, an online tool like Pinterest or a box at home. Go through magazines, blogs, books or even go out and take photos of things in the world that inspire you. Collect inspiration for all of the things that you might like to craft in the future.

3. Print out patterns and make specific project plans.

Choose the projects that you would like to work on when it’s time to craft again. Print out each pattern and put it in a bag. If you have a yarn stash, you can also add the yarn that you’ll be using. Getting organized is a great step to getting motivated back to crafting. And it’s something you’ll need to have ready anyway as soon as you’re ready to craft again.

4. Do some creative writing about your crafting.

Think about your favorite ever project and write a love poem to it. Send a letter of gratitude to the person who taught you how to knit or crochet. Add captions to photos of your previous work highlighting your favorite attributes.

5. Teach someone else to knit or crochet.

If you are suffering from crafty burnout then there’s no quicker cure than seeing fresh new eyes alight with the inspiration of the craft. If you have an injury, you can partner up with someone else who can do the specific knit or crochet moves and teach a group together to keep you active in the craft even though you can’t do the work at the moment.

6. Try another yarn craft.

If you’re a knitter, give a try at crochet and vice versa. But these aren’t the only yarn crafts. Try other needlecrafts, pick up yarn spinning with a spindle or wheel, work at dyeing your own yarn. There are many different ways to play with fiber!

7. Do some research.

Take an aspect of the craft that really interests you and read everything that you can about it. Delve into the worlds of crochet artists, craftivism, yarnbombing, 1970s designs, Irish lace history or whatever other aspects of knitting and crochet capture your fancy.

8. Make your gift list.

If you like to knit and crochet for the holidays then there is no better time than today to start planning out your gift list. Even if you can’t craft right now, you can figure out what you want to make for everyone and plan out a calendar for how long each project will take so that you stay on track as the holidays get closer.

9. Do some decluttering.

If your yarn stash is overflowing, your project queue is busting at the seams and your WIPs are taking over the entire house then it’s a good idea to do some decluttering. Why not take advantage of your crafty downtime and get organized so your crafting is super simplified when it’s time to start getting active with it again.

10. Adapt to your disability.

What is the reason that you can’t knit or crochet? Find a creative way to get past it. For example, when crochet designer Tammy Hildebrand broke her arm she learned how to crochet with her feet! Using ergonomic materials, playing with different fibers and adjusting positions can all help get you out of your injury-related craft hiatus and back on track with knit and crochet.

Has there ever been a time when you had to take a crafting hiatus? How did you get through it?