Crocheting with ADHD – Autistic Youth Hub

if you’re anything like me, the minute you put something down, it doesn’t exist. ADHD ✨️

ADHD is known for impacting motivation, focus, memory and organisation. which can make keeping on top of projects a project in itself.

i crochet, and i’m constantly getting distracted from my projects by new ideas, new inspiration, new yarn. i see something shiny and new i want to start so i cast aside my current project – i’ll finish it later, for real this time, i promise (i won’t) – to focus on the new dopamine rush. my unfinished work-in-progress pile grows and grows, and would take way too much time, focus and energy to shrink. so what happens when we start more than we finish?

this is nessie!! i was fairly steadily focused making most of what you can see here, but the next step is to add spikes and i couldn’t find the yarn i wanted to use. i have it somewhere, but my yarn stash is pretty chaotically organised. after a while i just bought some more, but by then the momentum was gone and starting things back up again when you have ADHD is famously difficult. (pattern by moontyasha on etsy)

personally i think it’s ok (to a point). the purpose of crafting isn’t just to finish pieces, if it was we would just buy them – there’s so much more to crochet (or knitting, drawing, sculpting…) than just a new jumper. it’s about creative expression and mindfulness, the movement of making is a great stim and the repetition feels almost meditative. the process of making is just as meaningful as the product. i think it’s important to question why we make, and what that process means to us.

ghost fairy lights – i started these 4 halloweens ago (2021). i started them literally on the day, about half an hour before guests were due to arrive for the halloween party i was hosting, thinking i could somehow make a ghost for every light and still have time to spare to sort out my costume. as soon as the first person arrived, it meant i’d missed the deadline, and without an exciting challenge of trying to finish on time i quickly lost motivation.

i think there’s a limit to that though. i almost never finish a piece and it can be really disheartening. yes, the creative process is important and fun, but it would be nice to be able to wear something and say, “i made this!”

we also need to be aware of overconsumption and consumerism. from a fibre arts perspective, part of the craft is about slowing down, rejecting fast fashion and putting meaning back into the pieces. so constantly buying and hoarding yarn i’ll never do anything with really defeats the point.

the six day star blanket by betty mcknit. this one’s an odd example as i’m still working on it fairly regularly. the different stitches on each row combined with the colour changes make it really easy to see it growing and coming together, which is really motivating, but i’ve included it as it’s taking me much longer than six days. when i’m crocheting, i work fairly quickly, but i get distracted and jump between things so much that individual projects usually take me ages to complete. i’m still really excited for this one though, and i’ve finished blankets quickly by following her patterns in the past.

i’ve noticed two things. when i finish a project, it’s usually for someone else. and it’s usually with a deadline.

when i make things for other people, i know finishing it will come with praise. motivation is rare and precious for me, and i find a lot of it in external validation. add to that the neurodivergent hyperawareness of being perceived and the ick of being seen as “failing” pushes me to keep going.

the reversible rose fairy – one way up it’s a fairy doll, the other way up it’s a flower! when i first saw this pattern i was fascinated and planned to make an army of them in a range of colours, and i made the main body and multiple petals in just a few days. i honestly don’t know why i didn’t finish this one, i still think the idea is super fun and the construction is really clever. i think i just jumped between so many projects at once that a few got left behind. (pattern by chibiscraft on ribblr)

deadlines create a sense of urgency. once something is urgent, it’s way easier to focus on – i think this is something most ADHDers will relate to. often, even if i’m interested in something, the focus doesn’t come until it feels urgent. even when i’m working on something for someone else, i’ll often make a start while there’s novelty then forget about it for months, and finally get it finished by staying up way too late the night before i want to give it to them.

this blanket is made up of granny squares sewn together. it may look finished, but it’s actually far too small to use as a blanket, and if you look closely you’ll notice there’s a border on only one side. i started this several years ago, but the process of making the small, plain squares on the outside got too repetitive and i lost interest. it’s a good project for using up scrap yarn, which i have a lot of, so i’m really tempted to pick this back up again.

motivation is strange. it always seems to come at the wrong time or for the wrong thing. i find that in order to start a task, i need to have at least two of the following: interest, novelty, urgency, or procrastination. for example, if i decide i’m going to do a particular task on a particular day, i usually start the task right at the end of the day, because then it feels urgent (the end of the day being the deadline) and i can use it to procrastinate on something else (going to sleep). the struggle to start tasks seems to be a fairly common ADHD experience and i’d definitely like to explore that more, but this wasn’t supposed to be about starting things, this was supposed to be about finishing them. when the interest and novelty have faded, and there’s no urgency, how do i finish something i’ve already started?

(left) making a scarf for my mum – attempt one. this was supposed to be a christmas gift three years ago but i ran out of the green yarn and it took months to find a close enough match, by which time the deadline of christmas, and the motivation it brought, had passed.

(right) making a scarf for my mum – attempt two. i had planned this as a christmas gift two years ago but it was my first time knitting in years and i underestimated how long it would take. once again, i missed the deadline. it’s worked in garter stitch (a very simple knit stitch where you just do the same thing over and over) which makes it perfect for when i want to not have to think about what i’m doing, so i still pick it up occasionally, but i don’t expect it to be finished anytime soon.

i honestly don’t know. sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. an example i think is interesting is a sock i’m knitting (pictured below). i don’t really know how to knit, so figuring out something new provided novelty, and fibre arts and clothing construction have always been interesting to me so at first i was quick to make progress. but knitting takes much longer than crochet and eventually i sort of just… forgot about it. it’s small and fits nicely in my bag so that’s where i left it, occasionally pulling it out if i needed something to do with my hands while away from home, but i never really actively chose to work on it again until about a month ago. i was knitting my sock at an event, someone commented on it and suddenly my excitement for it was back. i’ve nearly finished it now. i don’t even know why that one small conversation made me interested again, it just did.

the sock!! it’s worked from the top down, so what you can see here is the ribbing, cuff, heel flap and heel turn, with the start of the foot on the needles at the bottom. like i said above, knitting is much slower than crochet in general, plus i’m far less experienced with knitting than i am with crochet, so this has taken several months. i’m still really proud of it though. (pattern by tin can knits)

it would be amazing to be able to harness that renewed energy on demand. i think a lot of us have our own tips and tricks for what can help. for me though, they can be unpredictable. i have a few things that are “worth a try” rather than a surefire technique: for example, planning a new direction can bring back novelty, and i try to pick projects that have multiple sections to begin with, so starting the next bit of the same project is a mini dopamine hit. self-imposed deadlines don’t work for me because i know i’m the only person involved so i can just choose to move it, but if i tell someone else the accountability can help. i like body doubling for the same reason.

when i first saw the pattern for this mosaic blanket i immediately knew i needed to make it, but i was rushing to meet a deadline for another project, so i used the promise of starting this to bribe myself into doing what i needed to. as soon as i started on it i got hyperfixated, making most of the first row in a few days. i find the colours and shapes mesmerising. but sewing the squares together took longer, and sewing has always been less appealing to me than crocheting, and i got distracted by other projects. (pattern by frankie’s knitted stuff)

but it’s okay not to push yourself to finish something. it’s okay to say, “this isn’t for me right now” and put it down and forget about it for a little bit. often, when i find a half-finished project months later, the nostalgia brings back the interest and i can continue to make progress.

the virus shawl by king cole. i bought the yarn and pattern from a small yarn shop while on holiday this year. it was my main focus for about a month, distracting me from other projects, but sadly the cycle continued… it’s about half the size i want it to be and i’m planning to add a fluffy black trim.

if none of this works for you, that’s okay too, we don’t need to finish everything we start. even if the end product isn’t what you hoped when you started, the act of making is enough.

that being said, here’s some stuff i have finished!!