Is This An Expensive Hobby?

[GurleyGirl]

Also, don't forget your local library for crochet books. Many of them carry the most popular crochet books from the past few years.

[Peggy85225]

Maybe you should ask the question "How many of you wait until hubby is asleep to bring your purchases in and then hide them for a few days? When he notices something new you can say,without lying, Oh I've had that for a while!!" Does that answer your question!! Or ask,"how many plastic tubs do you have filled with yarn?" This can be very addictive. If you find a pattern you like, don't be afarid to sub a cheaper yarn. I personally have never spent more than $5.00 one one skein of yarn. I use mostly the ecno skeins and wait until that is on sale, then I stock up. Anyoen here will be more than happy to give you their experience with a certain yarn if you are unsure. Have fun..

 

You've peeked in my trunk, garage, closet, undr the bed, in the cupboard, etc. etc. etc. haven't you?

[Craw]

This hobby didn't get expensive until I joined here and started reading. I only buy yarn on sale and yet I can still spend more than I should. And oh yes, I've gotten quite a few pattern books from my public library. Just another good place to look for free patterns.

[jmccrochet]

I find it expensive, mostly because I"m an impulse buyer. Monday night, I officially obtained "first name basis" with one of the women at Michaels

Joyce

[MaryPat]

BAck in 1973 I was pretty poor. I made $1.20 an hour (and lived on it). I owned 2 crochet hooks -- a Hero size H and a steel sized 9. I had no problem taking people's leftovers of yarn and turning it into things. I made rugs from rags. My splurge was white thread. I was making a tablecloth of 600 motifs, so this kept me going.

 

Now if I see alpaca yarn that I like, I pretty much buy it. I buy old hooks from eBay that I'll never use. So different, yet no less or more satisfying.

[CLLinda]

Also, don't forget your local library for crochet books. Many of them carry the most popular crochet books from the past few years.

 

And if your library is in a interlibrary group, then you can borrow books from other libraries too. Just by using the internet. It's great.

 

[allieliz]

Welcome to Crochetville!

 

This website is a wonderful and free resource for your crocheting so if you are on a budget, there are lots of people here to give advice and share their experiences (and tell you where to find the really good bargains).

 

That being said, this hobby can get very expensive if you let it.

[ArielManx]

If you're looking for supplies on the cheap, see if any of your friends or relatives used to crochet or knit, but don't anymore. Odds are they still have a box of yarn and hooks in the closet that they'd be thrilled to see go home with you.

 

Like everyone has said, it can get expensive if you let it, but if you shop smart and take advantage of the internet for free patterns, it's no more expensive than sewing, beading, scrapbooking, any number of hobbies. And cuddling up on the couch under a blanket fresh off the hook, or seeing a friend's baby wrapped in an afghan you made... things like that are priceless.

[amberghini]

Congrats and welcome!

 

For me, it is. I love buying yarn and making things for other people. Especially afghans. I can't help it. A month ago I bought $300 worth of yarn, and three days ago, I bought $60. I'm also quite picky about the feel of my yarn, so that jacks up the price too.

 

But, for my mother, it's not. She crochets rarely, and when she does, it's small things.

 

So, there's two different takes on it, like everyone else has said, "it depends."

[HollyzHobbyz]

Not always expensive, but very, VERY addicting!!!!

[dianejerry]

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Edited September 30, 2008 by dianejerry
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[DameErin]

Did anybody bring up using plarn? I didn't see it, but as I get older, I have to hold the computer monitor out further.

[GEMINI4659]

Welcome

 

If you get a yarn obsession:c9 [such as I] it can be veryyyyyyyyy expensive.

[GurleyGirl]

I find it expensive, mostly because I"m an impulse buyer. Monday night, I officially obtained "first name basis" with one of the women at Michaels

Joyce

Now that was funny - thanks for starting out my day with a laugh!

[JennyBunny]

I'm making things out of plarn these days as my yarn budget is practically nil. Not so easy on the hands and wrists, but very easy on the budget.

 

LOL My mother doesn't know that every time she or my grandmother bring over items in plastic bags she's giving me the materials to make their Christmas presents. I look forward to the bags are much as the clothes and food donations!

[Mavelyn]

Did anybody bring up using plarn?

 

Would that be plastic yarn?

[JennyBunny]

Plarn id the 'fiber' that is the result of cutting up plastic bags and linking them into a single 'thread".

http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/02/17/instructions-for-cutting-plastic-bags-creating-recycled-plastic-yarn/

[LizGrayson]

I guess I should add an addendum to my earlier post - it can be expensive if you keep breaking hooks, like I have this past week. Then again, I use plastic ones (maybe I should start using metal ones;) so they're not that expensive.

[eurolyons]

It can be expensive. But really it depends on what one's definition of expensive is. When I picked up my hooks again 5 years ago, I went to a whole new level with crocheting than I had ever gone the previous 35 years before. I don't even want to hazard a guess as to how much I've "invested" in my hobby in the last 5 years alone.

Edited August 8, 2008 by eurolyons

[eurolyons]

What is expensive to me? Sock yarn at nearly $20.00 a skein...heck, any skein of yarn that's over $8.00 really.

 

I priced the recommended yarn for a pattern for a dressing gown that was knitted, that I wanted to convert to crochet...had I used the recommended yarn, it would have cost over $600.00 to make that dressing gown in crochet and only a tad bit less if I knitted it...now that's expensive...

 

I crocheted the dressing gown in microspun for around $80.00. Some people would still think that's expensive, but I feel I got a deal.

[Titus2woman]

For a *very tight* budget, I do find that it becomes expensive. Thankfully however, I can nickel and dime it by buying yarn for a project as I go! It does make for less money spent on presents. I don't see myself making any afghans anytime soon though, as the cost of yarn at once is too steep for me. (((((HUGS))))) sandi

[vonnie]

I crochet mainly with thread and I don't think it is expensive at all. A ball of thread is 1.43 in size 10 and it takes about 3 hours to use up a ball, so at that isn't all that bad at all....You of course can get more expenisive thread/yarn, but i you want to crochet and are limited on money you can..... When I was first married, we had NO money, and I had a skein of yarn someone had given me, and I would crochet it out and them frog it and do it again, it wasn't very pretty, but keep me busy....

[Cliffnote]

For me it is not very expensive. I buy from wally world every now and then of course, but I also find my yarn at yard sales,rummage sales,thrift stores,and flea markets. I have gotten it for christmas. I find most patterns for free online, or from magazines I have gotten. I never buy the real expensive yarn unless its on sale for a really low price.I find it to be relaxing and exciting to be able to create something.

[DesertCrocheter]

I crochet mainly with thread and I don't think it is expensive at all. A ball of thread is 1.43 in size 10 and it takes about 3 hours to use up a ball, so at that isn't all that bad at all....

 

I just took 3 weeks to use up half a ball of size 10 thread for my partner's gift in the filet swap. Three hours?? I am humbled, vonnie, humbled! And I never thought of thread as a budgetary thing. I just got annoyed that I had to wear my reading glasses or my bifocals to see the dang stitches. But you've inspired me to get started on those tulip curtains I want. Crochet to keep me sane, thread to keep my budget in line. Thanks!! Patty

[ferretlady]

Welcome! As everyone else has stated, it can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be.

 

And put in perspective with other non-essential items you might spend money on, it is a very inexpensive hobby. For example, if hubby & I chose to go out to eat at a restaurant, we could easily spend $25. What do we get for that $25 - an hour or so of enjoyment at most?

 

For that same $25, I can - just one possibility - make a ultra-soft full-size afghan from Soft Delight or similar "semi-expensive" yarn ($12-13), 3 luxurious mohair shawls for myself & as gifts ($6-9), and a handful of fun scarves out of a variety of different yarns as plain or "funky" as I want. I get hours & hours & hours of enjoyment crocheting the items, and the people who get them get plenty of enjoyment out of them afterwards. I don't know exactly how long it would take to complete those projects, but I'd guess we'd be looking at my hobby costing just pennies per hour to enjoy. Not an expensive hobby at all, when you look at it that way.

 

If you shop around carefully, watch for sales, clearance deals, buying yarn from unexpected sources, etc etc - you can end up with "expensive" yarns on a shoestring budget. Nothing wrong with Red Heart / Caron etc - but don't feel that you HAVE to stick to those yarns because you're on a limited budget. Nowadays, I very rarely buy the Red Heart/Caron/etc type yarns anymore, because they're much more expensive, actual cost per yard, than many of the 'nice' yarns I do get.

 

Trick is to catch the 'hot buys' when you can find them & "stock up" to the best that your budget allows. If you buy online w/ shipping costs, try to get as much in one order as you can, to spread the shipping cost over as many skeins as possible. Of course, if you can get free shipping, that's even better! But only buy the yarns you really like - it's easy to get caught up & buy something just because it's a super-good price & it turns out you don't care for it. But at the same time, don't be TOO afraid to take a chance either - some of my favorite yarns were "unknowns" to me until I bought them & tried them out.

 

And most important of all, HAVE FUN!!!!!