The journal
Long-form, on craft.
Guides for makers — written carefully, no listicles, no fluff.
Sep 7, 2026
Perler Bead Supplies — What You Actually Need, With Real Numbers
Bead sizes, pegboard peg counts, which brands mix, how many beads a board holds, and the iron settings from the manufacturer rather than from a forum. Everything specified, nothing guessed.
Sep 7, 2026
DMC Embroidery Floss — What a Skein Is, How Many You Need, and What to Skip
One DMC skein is 8.7 yards of six-strand cotton. Here's how far that actually goes, how to turn a chart's per-colour stitch counts into a shopping list, and why generic floss packs cause more problems than they solve.
Sep 7, 2026
Cross Stitch Kits for Beginners — What's in a Good One, and When to Build Your Own
A good beginner kit is 14-count Aida, real DMC floss, a size 24 needle and a counted chart. Here's how to spot the cheap ones, what to buy if you assemble your own, and how big a first project should be.
Sep 7, 2026
The Best Yarn for Tapestry Crochet (and Why Cotton Keeps Winning)
Tapestry crochet punishes the wrong yarn — floats show, edges bulge, the picture blurs. Here's what to buy for bags, what works for blankets, and the hook rule that fixes most of it.
Sep 7, 2026
The Best Yarn for a Graphghan — and How Many Skeins You Actually Need
Graphghans have different yarn requirements from ordinary blankets — saturation matters more than softness, and end-weaving matters more than price. Here's the yarn, the skein math for three sizes, and the kit.
Sep 7, 2026
The Best Thread for Filet Crochet — Sizes, Hooks, and How Big It Comes Out
Thread size decides everything in filet crochet — the hook, the gauge, and how big your chart finishes. Here's the size chart, the steel hook conversions, the threads worth buying, and how to work out finished size before you start.
Sep 7, 2026
The Best Cotton Yarn for Crochet — Dishcloths, Bags, Garments
Cotton is the right yarn for about a third of what people crochet and the wrong one for the rest. Here's what to buy by project, what mercerized actually changes, and what nobody will tell you about shrinkage.
Sep 7, 2026
The Best Aida Cloth for Cross Stitch — Count, Colour, and What to Actually Buy
Which Aida count for a beginner, which for detail, which for a converted photo — plus brands, precut sizes, colours, and a table of what fabric size each stitch count needs with margin included.
Sep 2, 2026
How to Grid Cross Stitch Fabric (And Why It Saves Whole Evenings)
Gridding your Aida before you stitch turns a 200-stitch counting error into a 10-stitch one. Here's the washable-thread method, how big to make the squares, and when gridding is not worth it.
Sep 2, 2026
Cross Stitch Fabric Calculator — Stitch Count, Aida Count, Finished Size
Stitches divided by fabric count equals inches. That one division decides your fabric, your frame, and whether the design fits — here's how to run it, plus how much margin to add and how much floss to buy.
Aug 16, 2026
How to Turn a Cross-Stitch Pattern into a Crochet Pattern
Cross-stitch charts and crochet colorwork charts are the same object — a grid of colored squares. Here's how to work any cross-stitch pattern in crochet, what changes (gauge, floss colors, fabric), and the free three-minute conversion.
Jul 18, 2026
How to Turn a Picture into a Graph for Crochet (Free, Step by Step)
Every graphgan starts with a graph. Here's how to turn any picture into a crochet graph — the graph paper way, the free three-minute way, and how to pick a size that won't ruin the project.
Jul 17, 2026
How to Read Filet Crochet Charts (Blocks, Spaces, and Direction)
Filet crochet charts are the easiest charts in all of crochet — two kinds of square, one rule for direction, a little foundation math. Here's how to read one without a written pattern.
Apr 27, 2026
How to Read a Crochet Chart Pattern (with Examples)
Crochet chart patterns look intimidating but they're a clearer way to follow a pattern than written rows. Here's exactly how to read one — symbols, direction, and where to start.
Apr 26, 2026
Yarn Weight Chart Explained — Lace to Jumbo, with Photos
The Craft Yarn Council weight chart is the single most useful reference in crochet and knitting. Here's what each weight category means, what it's for, and how to substitute between them.
Apr 25, 2026
Crochet vs. Knit — Which Should a Beginner Start With?
The honest answer to crochet versus knit for total beginners. Pros, cons, what each is genuinely better at, and what to ignore in the perpetual internet debate.
Apr 24, 2026
How Much Yarn Do I Need? A Real-World Calculator and Rules of Thumb
Stop guessing yarn quantities. Here's a real-world method, project-by-project rules of thumb, and a free yarn calculator that gets it right.
Apr 23, 2026
How to Substitute Yarn in Any Pattern (Without Ruining It)
Substituting yarn is one of crochet's most useful skills and one of its most common project-killers. Here's the disciplined way to do it.
Apr 22, 2026
Crochet Hook Sizes — US to mm Conversion (and When to Size Up)
A clean reference for crochet hook sizes — US letters, UK numbers, mm equivalents — plus when and why to size up or down from a pattern.
Apr 21, 2026
The Best Yarn for Amigurumi (and Why It Matters)
Amigurumi has yarn requirements most patterns don't talk about. Here's what actually matters — fiber, weight, twist — and the specific yarns that consistently produce good results.
Apr 20, 2026
Filet Crochet for Beginners — A Complete Guide
Filet crochet is the most underrated form of crochet. Two stitches, a chart, and you're making heirloom-grade pictorial pieces. Here's everything you need.
Apr 19, 2026
How to Turn Any Photo into a Crochet Pattern — Step by Step
Turning a photograph into a crochet pattern used to require expensive software and an evening of fiddling. Here's the modern way, in three minutes, in a browser.
Apr 18, 2026
Pixel-Art Crochet — Tapestry vs. Graphgan vs. Corner-to-Corner
Three different ways to turn a pixel-grid chart into a finished crochet piece. Each has a different look, a different feel, and a different ideal use case. Here's how to pick.
Apr 17, 2026
The Best Yarn for a Crochet Blanket (Honestly)
Most "best yarn for a blanket" lists are sponsored. Here's the honest version, sorted by what kind of blanket you're actually making.