Recent Crochet Adventures (AKA Selling at a Market)
In early April my Aunt’s houseplant store (Plant Patience) hosted a pet adoption event with vendors. It was called Plants & Paws. The event was a great success and three dogs got adopted. I also joined up with two other crocheting friends and we sold items that we had made at the event.
I didn’t manage to get a photo at the actual event but this was our practice-run setup. The adorable highland cows and dinos were made by my cousin, but the rest of the items were made by me. All of the amigurumi animals sold out quickly, but on the other hand I didn’t sell either of my daisy bags or any coasters. Scrunchies were more popular and about two-thirds of them sold.
Being honest, this event was more stress than it was worth. I wasn’t mentally prepared for how much effort this market was going to take. I think trying to primarily use pre-owned yarn added another complication, because it meant I was finding patterns to fit the yarn instead of the usual, other way around. The biggest reason I won’t sell crocheted items again is this: crocheting is not my favorite hobby. I enjoy doing about one small crochet project a month. My real hobby is sewing and quilting, and the truth is I would rather be playing with fabric than playing with yarn. I’m not finished with crochet, but now I know for sure that I don’t want to monetize this secondary hobby of mine. But I really did enjoy seeing the fun, finished little collection of things I had made - that was by far the best part. So here’s a little more about each item I made.
Amigurmi Turtles
Isn’t he adorable? I made three turtles in two different colorways and they were definitely my most popular item. They were fairly quick to make, even on my first few runs through the pattern. About two hours for one turtle.
Pattern: Turtle Crochet with Popcorn Stitch
Yarn: Assorted acrylic
Hook: 4mm
Summer Days Daisy Bag
This was my second and third iterations of this pattern, and it only grows on me each time I make it. These bags have a great feel to them and even though they didn’t sell I’m pretty happy to be able to give them as gifts. By my third time making this pattern I think it took around 6 or 7 hours.
Pattern: Summer Days Daisy Bag by AllAboutAmi
Yarn: 24/ 7 Worsted Lion Brand ( in Bayleaf) and Lily Cream’n Sugar (in Cream and maybe Goldenrod)
Hook: 4mm
Velvet Scrunchies
By far the quickest make on this list, these work up in about 20 minutes. They are so soft!! I think that is a big reason that most of them sold.
Pattern: Scrunchie in Modern Crochet by DeBrosse and Teresa Carter
Yarn: Bernat Velvet
Hook: 5.5mm
Sunflower Scrunchies
This had the perfect spring vibe for an early April market. In Central California wildflowers are at their peak and this beautiful scrunchie fits the season! It looks really good around a bun. These took less than an hour each.
Pattern: Sunflower Scrunchie by Alyssa’s Handmade
Yarn: Assorted acrylic
Hook: 4mm
Basketweave Zip Pouch
Because these took so long to make, around 4 hours, I only made two pouches. But they both sold really quickly at the market. I haven’t quite dialed down a procedure for sewing the zipper and lining to the crochet part. One pouch was made by sewing the zipper to lining and then crocheting the exterior into the stitches on the zipper. For the second pouch I assembled all three pieces by sewing machine, but then had to finish up the hard to reach places by hand. Both of these methods were very time-consuming and had somewhat unprofessional finishes. I’m gonna keep working on a construction method for these becuse I really love the combination of my true love (sewing) and my side hobby of crochet.
Pattern: Basketweave Stitch Pouch by I Heart Gantsilyo
Yarn: Lily Sugar’n Cream in Sonoma + stash zippers + stash fabric
Hook: 4mm
Animal Coasters
I made six (two pink, two goldenrod, two mint) coasters but didn’t sell any of them. I think this was probably because they have a very young and cutesy aesthetic, which doesn’t appeal to many adults. But that’s ok, I’ll use them as gifts and as coasters for my room. These were super fast to crochet but it took a while to embroider the faces. Probably around 40 minutes total for one coaster.
Pattern: Easy Animal Coasters by Meemanan
Yarn: Assorted acrylic
Hook: 5mm
