When nothing feels right and your creative juices aren’t flowing, it can be easy to lose hope and let the artist in you fall by the wayside. You might be dealing with lots of work, family obligations, or maybe you had a bad day when everything that could have gone wrong did just that. Regardless of what happened, you deserve a way to clear your mind and express your imagination without holding back.
How do you reclaim your focus and return to your best self? One way is to find a hobby that occupies your hands and calls for your full attention to be done correctly. That way you won’t be able to think about anything except what you’re doing, causing your worries to simmer down for a well-deserved respite.
A popular option is learning how to knit or crochet and making something out of yarn. Perhaps there’s an old blanket around that could benefit from some creative patchwork. Maybe a pair of custom wool socks is just what your loved one needs to get into the Christmas spirit. There are thousands of projects online suitable for any skillset and hundreds of craft-based communities to swap ideas with and get inspired by. Here are a few ways that yarn can help you get your groove back.
Try a New Pattern, Project, or Design
A dose of novelty is a sure-fire way to refresh your creativity. Have you ever knit yourself a toque or a pair of mittens and felt the pride of keeping in style on a budget? Instead of buying a new sweater, why not repurpose the fabric, pick up a little extra at your local yarn shop, and give an intriguing ruffle or ripple pattern a try?
It can be quite freeing to break down barriers between you and the ideas you can turn into reality. Just make sure to use quality materials. As a beginner, go for knitting needles or crochet hooks made of plastic instead of metal for a more forgiving experience. As for your yarn, choose a brand that comes in the colors and thickness you need to see your project through. A yarn’s thickness, or weight, is measured on a scale of 0 (Lace) to 7 (Jumbo) and can be found printed on the package.
When you’re feeling blocked, teaching yourself how to find beauty in unfamiliar ways is exactly what the doctor ordered. Go ahead and knit yourself something lovely so you can get out of your funk and back to your best work. Make sure to check out Yarnspiration for more ideas to nurture the artist within and spark it back into action.
Try a Project That Tests Your Skills
Leaving your comfort zone can be a shocking experience, but it’s probably the best way to understand the universal truth that we’re all capable of more than we give ourselves credit for. Widening your artistic reach, if only a little bit further, can open up creative avenues you may have never thought of.
For example, you could try knitting a piece of clothing with your favourite flower on it or an object that means a lot to you personally. The challenge here is to render it as realistically as possible. If you’re first try doesn’t turn out so great, don’t be discouraged. Crafting with yarn can be an iterative process where work is slowly refined over multiple drafts.
Give a Gift
Whether you choose an intricate project or a straightforward one, making it for a loved one can help to mentally declutter and save energy for what truly matters to you. The time and effort you take to express your affection will not only put a smile on your friend or family member’s face, it’ll also remind you that hardships are unavoidable. It’s the attitude you bring to them that counts.
In the world of yarn, there’s more than enough space for you to rest and recuperate from the demands of a busy life. If you’re thinking about a million things at once, bust those needles out, pick a design, and dwindle that number down to one.
