How to Declutter Your Unfinished Crochet Projects

How many unfinished crochet projects do you have sitting around? Be honest… 3, 10, 27?

This month’s 365 Crochet Challenge topic is Finish or Frog.

It’s time to go through all your WIPs (works in progress) and decide which ones you will actually finish and which ones its time to let go of.

As much as I try I am just not a one at a time project kind of gal. Currently, I have 3 active projects, 1 that I need to start asap and I have at least 3 that just need finishing details. I bet a lot of you can relate to this!

All this month we are talking organization. We are starting off with decluttering your unfinished projects and moving on to other ways to organize your crochet life.

Step 1: Gather your projects.

Bring all your projects together to the same space. This will help you visualize how many you actually have.

Was it more or less than you thought. Mine was a lot less! I have a tote under my bed that I thought was full of unfinished projects but it just had some finished ones and a bunch of random swatches (designer life!).

Step 2: Quick Sort

Pile #1:

Make a pile of projects that just need finishing. Ends woven in, button sewed on, pom added, etc. These projects will all be quick to finish.

You can also put projects here that have all their parts, but just need to be sewn together.

Pile #2:

Now make a pile of promised projects or commissions.

These will take priority over your other WIPs. I’ve added a baby blanket to this pile that needs to get done before the end of this month.

Pile #3:

This is everything else. That sweater you started 2 years ago, the pile of unfinished granny squares… everything else.

This is the pile we are going to dive deeper into.

Step 3: Deep Dive

Let’s sort that pile #3. These are some questions to ask yourself and points to consider when you are trying to decide to finish or frog your project.

Sometimes it’s an easy no. You know that there’s no way you will ever pick that project up again.

or your kid’s silly putty ended up all over it somehow…. This one is going to be trashed.

Sometimes it’s a little less straightforward. If that’s the case here are a few helpful questions.

Consider how long you’ve been storing this WIP. Over a year? Maybe it’s time to let it go.

Do you have the materials/can you get the materials to complete it? If the answer is no, it might be time to let it go, especially if the yarn you need is discontinued.

Do you want to finish it? Does this project bring you joy? If the answer is yes, then put it in your keep pile!

If the answer is no, it’s ok to let it go.

Consider your space.

Another important thing to consider when you are deciding what to keep is how much space you have to store them.

I follow Dana White (A Slob Comes Clean) on YouTube and on her channel she talks a lot about decluttering (an area I’ve been trying to improve in!). One of her decluttering helpers is called the “container concept.”

This concept has helped me declutter so much because I don’t have to be the bad guy so to speak. I have a designated space for the item and that’s it. I can’t have more than that space will comfortably hold.

If I have a jar for pens. That jar is my limit. I can only keep enough pens that will fit in that jar. This forces me to only keep the ones I really love. If I get new pens, then some of the old pens have to go.

This concept can work great for our crochet life too! I already sort of do this with my yarn stash (more on that later this month!)

I’m not going to finish this, now what?

You can either frog it (pull it apart to reuse the yarn) or just trash it.

This is a personal preference. Most of the time I end up just tossing it in the trash but if it’s a yarn I really like or it’s one of my more expensive yarns I will frog it.

I frogged a whole sweater panel to use on last year’s CAL!

Yarn ball winder, it can make quick work of frogging your projects.

This is how my pile ended up! I have 3 projects that I’m undecided on! I think I’ll finish the sweater (gray one) and frog the striped blanket (I love the colors but the pattern is beyond frustrating because I keep messing up the counts). There’s a shawl under the sweater project that I think I’ll keep. It’s someone else’s pattern so it’ll be easy to pick up if I want something that I don’t have to “design” as I’m crocheting.

Now what?

To help you keep these projects organized I have a couple of FREE Printables in my resource library that you might like!

The first is some project tags. Just fill out the tag and attach it to your project so you know immediately all the pertinent info for that project.

There is also a Project Queue Sheet. This would be helpful if you have a lot of things you plan on finishing. I would list them by order of importance and check them off as you get them done.

Time for a little bit of homework!

Want to do this Challenge with friends? Come join our crochet group on Facebook! It really is one of my very favorite places to hang out and is filled with some of the nicest crocheters on this planet. Seriously.