u/flowers_and_fire

I've slowly been branching off into making my own crochet clothes without a pattern. I would gradually like to really UNDERSTAND crochet though - increase and decrease rates, shaping, sizing up and down, etc. I also want to know the guidelines for creating clear and professional crochet patterns. I would like to make my own patterns eventually.

Any advice on this? How do I make the leap from mostly working of patterns I adapt and occasionally making my own (very simple) clothes, to understanding how to create different kinds of crochet fabrics, and creating (size inclusive) professional patterns?

I don't expect to do it overnight, but i'd love some guidance on books, resources, stitch dictionaries, websites, etc. Unfortunately I have pretty limited energy so I can't just stumble in the dark and figure it out myself 😅

I've slowly been branching off into making my own crochet clothes without a pattern. I would gradually like to really UNDERSTAND crochet though - increase and decrease rates, shaping, sizing up and down, etc. I also want to know the guidelines for creating clear and professional crochet patterns. I would like to make my own patterns eventually.

Any advice on this? How do I make the leap from mostly working off patterns I adapt and occasionally making my own (very simple) clothes, to understanding how to create different kinds of crochet fabrics, and creating (size inclusive) professional patterns?

I don't expect to do it overnight, but i'd love some guidance on books, reaources, stitch dictionaries, websites, etc.

It wasn't an expensive item, but i've already blown through most of my income this month. I didn't need it, i'm drowning in similar items, but addiction brain hit and in that moment I could NOT live without that specific thing. My anxieties about never finding it at a reduced price again or never having enough of it, my unrelenting search for dopamine (I have ADHD) were SO overwhelming. My card wasn't charged immediately so thankfully I was just able to cancel the order entirely. I'm so proud if myself. It's a small thing but in the moment it felt like the hardest thing i'd ever done!

I have a problem. Every month I say it will be different, and every month I still end up with barely any money in my account. I know I spend as a way of distracting myself from difficult emotions (e.g. this problem got a LOT worse after my mom recently died) and as a way to get dopamine (I have ADHD). But my main issue is that I usually end up buying stuff I actually use and want. Maybe not need per se, but stuff I will definitely use and appreciate. It's never just useless junk, and it often increases my quality of life. The problem is I never WAIT to buy it when I can actually afford it (ADHD impulsiveness and consequence blindness). Or I never consider if there's something I ALREADY have that is similar (ADHD loves novelty!).

So aside from the typical advice...how do I stop? I'm working on making it harder to spend money (no saved cards, no ad emails) and I'm also trying to focus on logging and appreciating and loving what I already have. I don't respond well to negative motivators (landfills or capitalism or exploitation - important, but anxiety inducing, which makes me want to spend more to escape the feeling). So I guess what advice would you give me then? What mental stuff do you do that really helps with this? It seems to mostly be a mental problem in my case. Or the voice whispering in my head that I actually do want or need that thing and why wait until I can afford it when I can just have it now???

I'm 4 months into braid locs done on low density 2-3 inches of hair. I also had an undercut, so i've been waiting for that to grow out so I can loc that part of my head as well. I have no regrets about not waiting to loc my whole head at once. It took me forever to do 3/4 of my head, so I was deeply thankful for the extended break 🤣 My locs haven't changed much anyway. They're teeny weeny braid locs, so apart from being fuzzier and sliiiiiightly thicker, they look pretty much the same. The new locs won't stand out much from the older ones.

THAT SAID - my hair looks CRAZY. I don't leave the house much and when I do I wear a headwrap - i've always been a headwrap girly so it's not unusual. On one hand I accept my locs the way they are, and love how they're developing. On the other hand, I come on here and see these beautiful juicy mature locs. Or people who have been loced for the exact same time as me, and still somehow have gorgeous hair 😭 I know loc envy is the thief of joy and all that, but damn, having short fine hair is a STRUGGLE lol. I looked like a plucked chicken at day 1, and now I just look like frizzy plucked chicken. There is very little representation of that on this sub, and seemingly ever other day there's someone either saying or asking if they have low density hair when they very much do NOT. Being a low density natural has always been a struggle but it's even more of a struggle when you have baby locs and there's all that scalp and frizz. I can't help but feel my locs are ugly. It sucks.