When you’ve been crocheting for any amount of time, you know that losing your crojo can be a real problem–especially if you use crochet as a method of keeping your stress and anxiety at bay, like I do. I’m here to give you some tried and true methods of what I do to regain my crojo and reset the balance of my little world (which my family probably thinks revolves around yarn, since I own so much).
What is Crojo?
Fair question. Crojo is a word created by crocheters in the industry that merges crochet and mojo. Losing your crojo often means that you just find yourself not wanting to pick up your hook and work on any type of crochet project. You feel uninspired, unmotivated, and otherwise blah toward the passion that was once involved in your craft.
For people who work in the crochet industry–pattern makers, pattern testers, custom crochet project makers, Etsy sellers, craft fair enthusiasts, and crochet bloggers–losing your crojo can be a serious issue. As well as for people, such as myself, who also work corporate jobs and use crochet as a form of releasing the anxiety we’ve built up throughout our days.
Why Do We Lose Our Crojo?
I’m friends with many crocheters, and we all talk about what causes us to lose our mojo from time-to-time. It seems the most common is when we say yes to something we should have said no to.
Do you ever have a good friend come to you with a project like this, “Hey, Amanda! I know you are a great crocheter. I just saw this pattern for a (insert large and complicated pattern here) and I’m willing to pay you to make it for me!” Because you like a challenge, and live to help out your friends, you say yes. Despite the fact that you’re already busy. Despite the fact that you currently have 5 other projects you’re working on. Despite the fact that you don’t have a pattern for the project and think you’ll have time to make one up. I’m a pro at doing this very same thing.
Another possible reason people lose their will to crochet could be if they’ve been working on the same project for a long period of time. Maybe it’s a paid project, or maybe it’s just something you wanted to take on because you thought you had a lot of time. But now it’s summer, and the blanket is bulky, and hot, and you are just over it.
I’ve been there.
10 Ideas to Get Your Crojo Back
The list-maker in me wanted to come up with some tried-and-true ideas to help you get your crojo back! Now, sometimes I try one of these and they don’t work, so I have to move on to another. But keep trying, and hopefully you’ll find the one that works for you!
- Start a project you know you can finish in an hour – Simply the act of finishing a project could be enough to help you get out of your funk. Need a quick-turn project? Try out these face scrubbies or try making a velvet scrunchie. Often times all you need is the rush of finishing a project in order to kick you back into working on others.
- Learn a new stitch – If you’re making a crochet blanket in the bobble stitch, and it’s the only stitch you happen to know right now, you might just be plain sick and tired of it. There’s much more to crochet than a few stitches–there are hundreds! Check out New Stitch a Day for some ideas.
- Wander through the yarn aisle at your local craft store. Sometimes just getting out and finding a new skein of yarn will get you motivated. Maybe select something that’s a different texture than what you’ve been working with.
- If you think it’s the hook that’s the issue, try a project where you crochet with your hands. Arm crochet, or finger crochet, have become popular in the past few years with the release of the super bulky yarns you can now find. Try putting down your hook and crocheting a different way.
- Join a crochet subscription box group and participate in a project with a group. The motivation of seeing others in the group finish their projects might be enough to help you out on your own!
- Find a local crochet group and meet up with them. I know my local yarn stores all have groups that meet and work on projects together frequently. It’s a way to share ideas, friendship, and oftentimes a motivation to also finish your project.
- Use a Facebook group as inspiration! There are several times people in the groups I’m active in lose their crojo, and they post and ask for idea for their particular situation. The group members share what works (and doesn’t work) for them, and the community tries to also help you out!
- Step away from crochet totally for a few days. If you work in the crochet field, maybe you just need a bit of a vacation! Don’t feel bad, everyone needs a vacation from time to time and you are no different! Plan a few days doing something else away from your crochet, and then see if the rest helps you when you come back to it.
- Sometimes our craft can also be attached to fond memories. Perhaps a hook that a loved one bought for us broke, or we lost it, and we just can’t bear to continue working. Perhaps we only crocheted with a family member who has passed on. It’s okay to take a break, but remember that your loved one wouldn’t want you to give up something that you love, and that the memories shared are special, and should live on. If you’ve lost your crojo due to sadness, talking to someone else about it might do the trick.
- Make something for yourself. Often we are so busy crocheting gifts and commission work for others that we lose our crojo because we aren’t able to enjoy our own work! So stop and make something for yourself. You are worth it!
I hope I’ve provided a few options you can try to get your crojo back! Remember that crochet is something that can only be done by hand, and if you’re one of the few people who can do this craft, you are special. Inspiration can be found in many sources–sometimes I head to my Facebook groups for it, and other times I browse Instagram or Pinterest for it. The important thing is making sure to take care of yourself and your needs first.
