When I first started crocheting garments some years ago, I very quickly made up my mind that “my thing” was colourwork. ”My thing” was also classical shapes and light-weight yarns. I didn’t “do” lace or weird shapes. No trendy fads here, thank you.

Without really realizing it, I locked my creativity up in this tiny little box.

Luckily, my rebellious nature soon made me rebel against myself, shatter the box, and start wandering along the various and amazing paths of crochet.

I know you love and enjoy your “crochet territory.” It can be very comfortable and satisfying. There are plenty of good, valid reasons to stick to what you know best. At least, you’re sure you won’t get lost. Of course, you never make exactly the same thing over and over again: you vary the size, the colour, the yarn, the stitch pattern. But you’re still in that box – in that well-known territory - however roomy and comfortable it may seem.

You may say: “I’m not the creative type. I only want to follow patterns. Don’t bother me with that creativity stuff.” But being creative doesn’t necessarily mean designing. It is still creative to follow a pattern using the exact yarn and hook specified. You make something where there was nothing. That’s creation! I believe that the desire to crochet, the desire to do any craft, stems from the deep, human need to create. You start with next to nothing: a string and a hook. Then you transform these utterly simple materials into intricate doilies, snuggly scarves, feather-like snowflakes, colourful sweaters and so on, forever and ever.

But even creativity can yield repetition. Repetition in the kind of work you do: when you’re starting your tenth scarf, you feel confident and pretty sure you will succeed. Repetition in the materials used: you are utterly convinced that pure wool is the best material ever, and you have no intention to waste your time on other yarns. Repetition in colour: there is no way you will ever make a garment in another colour than green, because every time you wear green people compliment you and tell you how wonderfully it brings out the colour of your eyes.

You don’t have to abandon your favorites, but there is so much to gain by pushing the boundaries a bit. If you take the time and muster the courage to step outside your territory, you will make wonderful things – I promise. Things you never imagined before.

You will make horrific mistakes, too. At first, you will throw them in a corner and swear you’ll never touch them again. It’s OK to shed a few tears too, if you feel so inclined. But after some time, you will pull out your awful mistake again, laugh a bit at it, realize what went wrong, and be amazed at all the new ideas that grow from this experience.

So how do you do it? How do you break the box? How do you cross the border? Here’s what I usually do (because this is something you need to do over and over again):

Go to a yarn store (or to your stash). Pick out a yarn (or several) that you think is unsuitable for crochet. Don’t choose a yarn you hate – if you are a lover of natural-coloured alpaca, don’t go for the neon-green acrylic. Just take a yarn that you think is OK in one way (the colour, the material, the touch, or it makes you smile) but absolutely wrong in some other way (too thick, too thin, too variegated, too strange, too different).

Now, treat yourself to the highest of luxuries: some undisturbed time in a comfortable place. Bring your yarn, several hooks, and perhaps a couple of stitch dictionaries.

Experiment with stitch patterns: try a solid stitch, a lace pattern, a motif. Change hook size and note how it affects the look and feel of the fabric. Go for stitch patterns that don’t particularly appeal to you, or stitch combinations you’ve never tried before. You are not making a gauge swatch; work for an inch or two and stop immediately if you don’t like what you're making. When you stumble upon something you find particularly appealing, keep your little swatch and make a note about the stitch pattern used, the hook size and any ideas that have crossed your mind while making it. Don’t stop there. Keep experimenting.

Wasn’t this adventurous enough? Instead of going to the yarn store, go to a craft shop, or a hardware store. Anything that resembles a string can be crocheted, provided it is pliable enough. Remember that word: Anything.

The only difficult part of this process is getting around to actually doing it. The easiest part for most of us would be going to the yarn store. The hardest part, at least for me, is to carve out that little undisturbed moment in time you will need, and allow yourself to use it just for playing with hooks and yarn. There might be a little voice in your head that tells you to go do something productive and interesting instead, like ironing, washing up or watching TV. Just politely tell that little voice to shut up.

You might end up with a heap of horrible swatches, and swear never to use that yarn again. Analyze why, and pick a different yarn to experiment with the next time.

You might end up with a fabulous idea – or twelve.

The author has licensed this page under a Creative Commons License. Some rights reserved.