Do you craft to feel the benefits on a personal level, or are you itching to get the next thing completed?
When it comes to knitting and crocheting, most crafters can fit into one of two categories: those who are process makers, and those who are product makers. They are motivated by different goals, and sometimes have very different habits when it comes to their chosen fibre craft.
Process makers
A process maker loves the process of making something, and takes pride in every stitch. Whether it takes them six weeks or six months to finish what they are creating, it doesn't matter to them! They take joy from every step in the process, from choosing the pattern and yarn, to swatching the yarn to make sure their gauge matches the pattern's instructions, each and every stitch in the project, weaving in the ends, and blocking the project for ultimate pride.
Process makers tend to take longer to choose the right yarn and pattern for them, as they may spend longer than other fibre crafters making their chosen project. These knitters and crocheters tend to value the mental and physical benefits of crafting (click here to read our article) perhaps more than finishing things that they can wear or gift to people they care about.
Product or project makers
These fibre crafters experience a thrill when they finish something: they love having a new hat to wear, or a pair of mittens to give their children, or a box of squishy hats to donate to charity. Every garment or accessory that comes flying off their needles or hook fills them with happiness and a sense of achievement that drives them forward into casting on something new.
Project makers are also more likely to stick with a pattern they enjoy, especially if they have a goal of making twelve pairs of socks in a year, or twenty hats for charity. The patterns they like tend to be clearly written, with easy to follow instructions, but that isn't always the case. We know several product motivated crafters who choose complex, challenging projects, and feel pleased and proud when they finish them. For these makers, the thing that pushes them forward is imagining themselves wearing the beautiful colourwork cardigan on a quiet walk through the woods, rather than hunting for weeks for the best and most innovative techniques to achieve perfectly tensioned floats.
So, which one are you?
