Make something
Things worth making, in an order that builds your hands up.
There's a particular kind of satisfaction in finishing something and then using it. These are the projects I hand people when they ask what to make next — each one chosen because it teaches a specific skill while producing something you'll genuinely keep.
Start small on purpose · Every project here teaches one new thing
Featured projects
Five projects, easiest first
Work down this list and you'll pick up nearly every core skill without ever attempting something that's beyond you. Each one is a real, finished object at the end.
The cotton washcloth
✦ Project one
A square of single crochet in cotton. It teaches chaining, turning, keeping your edges straight and counting a row — and you end up with something you'll actually use every day.
A simple ribbed scarf
✦ Project two
Long rows of half double crochet worked in the back loop only. It builds even tension through sheer repetition and shows you what a fabric looks like when your stitches settle down.
A round basket
✦ Project three
Your first piece worked in the round. A magic ring, steady increases, then straight sides. This is where crochet stops being flat and starts being three-dimensional.
A beanie that fits
✦ Project four
Working in the round with real shaping, and your first project where gauge genuinely matters. Swatch first — ten minutes here saves you a hat that fits nobody.
A textured cushion cover
✦ Project five
Front-post stitches, a clean colour change or two, and a proper seam at the end. It's the project where finishing technique starts to visibly pay you back.
The project ladder
What each project actually teaches you
Projects aren't just things to make — each one is a lesson in disguise. This is the skill you take away from each rung, and why the order matters.
01
Flat, square and small
Washcloths and coasters. You learn to keep a stitch count steady and an edge straight, which sounds dull and is in fact the foundation of everything. Make several. They get noticeably better.
✦ Counting & edges
02
Long and repetitive
Scarves and simple blankets. Hundreds of identical stitches is exactly what your hands need to find a consistent tension. This is the stage where your fabric stops looking lumpy.
✦ Tension
03
Round and increasing
Baskets, coasters, mats. The magic ring plus even increases teaches you how a flat circle grows, and gives you the maths that later becomes hats, bags and amigurumi.
✦ Shaping in the round
04
Fitted to a body
Hats, mitts, cowls. Here gauge stops being theoretical: if your swatch is out by half a stitch per inch, the finished thing is out by inches. This is the rung where swatching becomes a habit.
✦ Gauge that matters
05
Assembled from pieces
Cushions, bags, anything seamed. You learn that a beautifully stitched piece can still be let down by a rushed join — and that blocking before you seam makes everything fit together properly.
✦ Finishing & seaming
06
Designed by you
The point at which you stop looking for a pattern and start writing one. Swatch, measure, work out the stitch counts, take notes as you go, then write it down clearly enough that someone else could follow it.
✦ Your own work
Walkthroughs
All tutorials →
Project tutorials, step by step
Show me
Made something? I'd really love to see it.
Send me a photo of what you've made — wonky edges and all, especially the wonky edges. Seeing someone's first washcloth is genuinely the best part of writing any of this down, and if something didn't come out how you hoped, I can usually tell you exactly which row it started on.