crochet on a budget
tips for buying yarn on a budget
- Shop secondhand
- Find a local creative reuse center (CRC)
- Online marketplaces like Mercari
- Reclaim yarn from thrifted garments
- Sign up for email bulletins from yarn brands and watch for steep sales (40% or more off).
- These often come with changes in season to push out old stock.
- Look out for yarn swaps, in-person or online.
- There are always people looking to de-stash.
- Set a target/baseline price for a project.
- For example, I know that one adult-sized blanket takes about 4000 yds of DK yarn, which I know can be purchased for as low as $30. I use this baseline to recognize good deals.
- Be flexible with your pattern choices.
- Pick projects without a specific gauge or are made to measure.
- Have wish lists for yarn and patterns.
- When you find a good sale, refer to these lists so you know what you need.
- Get familiar with color theory and color blocking.
- More often than not, you’ll have a limited selection of colors and there might not be enough of one color to finish a project. In these cases, find areas in your pattern where you can use a secondary color that complements the primary color.
diy notions and tools
While specialized tools are nice, you can achieve the same or similar results with things that are cheap to buy, easy to make, or available at home.
- For a yarn bowl, use…
- Any heavy-bottomed container that won’t shift as you work
- If you need a hook/loop on the container to help with tension, attach a binder clip to the container.
- For stitch markers, use...
- Yarn scraps
- Bobby pins
- Safety pins (preferably ones without the circle coil at the base, else your yarn will snag)
- Mini hair elastics
- Charms with lobster clasps
- Earring hooks
- Plastic straw cut into stitch-sized rings
- For a ball winder, use…
- For blocking boards, use…
- Folded towels
- A kids foam play mat
- Instead of a "Colorwork Wheel", use…
- A Lazy Susan (turntable)