There was a time when I was so inspired by my grandmother’s knitting that I decided to give it a shot and follow in her footsteps. I was going to become a crochet grandmaster and I’d never have to buy a scarf or a pair of socks ever again! After all, I’d make the coolest patterns this side of the Atlantic and everyone would be super jealous. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I quickly gave up my lofty aspirations when I realized just how bad at everything I really was. And, sadly, I wasn’t willing to put in the time and effort to get better.

However, what stayed with me is my admiration for anyone who can crochet, knit, or sew something incredibly well. It’s not just the aesthetics but also the dedication to the craft that wins over my heart. Luckily for me (and for quite a few of you Pandas), there’s a lot of support online for anyone interested in learning how to make stunning designs. One of these online communities is r/crochet, a subreddit that’s home to nearly 257k people who love the art of crochet.

We’ve collected some of the finest projects featured by the r/crochet community for you to enjoy, dear Pandas, so go on, grab a piece of yarn and wind your way down into the magical realm of cat sofas, crochet animals and handmade clothes, and more. We know these photos will hook you right from the get-go.

One of the friendly moderators at r/crochet was kind enough to answer some of my questions about the community and the craft. "We pride ourselves on maintaining a kind and helpful sub that is welcoming to crocheters of all skill levels and experience," they told Bored Panda. You'll find the full interview about the pros and challenges of crochet below.

#1 My Wife Makes Lovely Crochet Animals. At The Moment She Is Not On A High With Self Confidence So I Want To Show Her That Her Work Is Not Only Liked By Our Kids And Myself

Image credits: Diaphor

#2 Fiiiinally Finished This Sunset-Colored Cat Blanket!

Image credits: savannahstitches

#3 An Artist Crochetted A Lady And Her Dog

Image credits: moneeo

The moderator from r/crochet shared with Bored Panda that the story of how the subreddit was founded is actually shrouded in mystery. "No one currently on the moderation team knows how the sub began in 2008," they said.

I was curious to learn about the link between crochet, knitting, and sewing, as well as just how beginner-friendly the former really is, overall. "Crochet is definitely the most beginner-friendly between crochet, knitting, and sewing. This is because, in part, it’s the easiest to rip apart (called frogging) and go back to fix a mistake," the moderator told Bored Panda that one of the biggest upsides of crochet is the ability to start over if you feel like you've messed up a tad.

It's not without its challenges, however. "Most beginners often find difficulty in knowing where to place the hook in each stitch and figuring out how to coordinate holding the yarn, hook, and work all at the same time!"

#4 This Blanket Pulled Me In Like Nothing Else - I Finished It In Just 8 Days And Can't Believe I Made It!

Image credits: koukkuunkoukussa

#5 Ladies In My Village In Southern Spain Crochet And Hang These Over This Street

Image credits: Sylocule

#6 Xenomorph Crochet Full Body Costume! My Son's Choice! He Glows! (Freehanded/No Pattern)

Image credits: Crochetverse

As for how similar crochet, knitting, and sewing are, the mod noted that there's some crossover with knitting. "They’re both yarn crafts that create fabric. Other similarities include knowing how to count stitches and read written patterns. There is no real crossover with sewing, except perhaps that advanced sewers may have an advantage in understanding how garments drape and fit," they were kind enough to explain to me.

Though you'll have to put in the time and effort to get good at crochet, it's actually a very easy activity to pick up and be on your merry way into the land of yarn. "Learning to crochet, like everything else, has a learning curve! Luckily, it’s pretty easy to get started—all you really need is a hook and a skein of yarn," the mod said.

Like with most things, the internet holds a wealth of information that's useful for anyone just starting out. "Most people find it easiest to learn from YouTube videos, and they are a fantastic resource for learning new stitches and patterns. There are also some wonderful books out there that can teach every conceivable stitch—you want to look for something called a 'crochet stitch dictionary' or similar. Other than that, have fun and don’t be afraid to experiment! And of course, visit the sub for help or advice!"

#7 Finally Finished My Sunflower Blanket After About 3 Years... Simply Sunburst Granny Squares With A Flat Braid Join

Image credits: 1ppikiokami

#8 My Persian Tiles Blanket Won First Place In A Crochet Blanket Competition!

Image credits: Fizzyguineapig

#9 I Finished It!!!! So Proud Of This One

Image credits: Rlysrh

The r/crochet subreddit was founded way back in the September of 2008. Since then, it has become an important part of Reddit’s social fabric. Here at Bored Panda, we’re big fans of people sharing their artistic skills with the world. And even though crochet and knitting might seem incredibly similar to one another from an outsider’s perspective, the fact is, they’re not exact synonyms for one another. (Though, of course, there is quite some overlap!)

Roxanna Coldiron explains in a piece on ‘Martha Stewart’ that crochet and knitting are both methods of stitching together yarn. However, the styles differ. “In knitting, the stitches form a ‘V’ shape. In crochet, the stitches are more like knots,” she writes.

#10 I'm Happy To Show You My New Sheep Design. I Don't Really Like To Make Clothes For Toys But This Fur Coat Had Been Made In One Breath, As The Sheep Itself

P.s. The coat hanger in the photo also deserves the attention, it made by my husband special for the sheep.

Image credits: LoopyPattern

#11 It Nearly Cost Me My Sanity, But My Scale Dress Is Finally Complete!

Image credits: Zahai

#12 I Crocheted A Cheeseburger And My Cat Loves It So Much

Image credits: baistei

The tools of the trade are also slightly different. “Knitting uses a pair of long needles to form the loops, moving a set of loops from one needle to another; the stitches are held on the needle. Crochet uses a single hook to hook the loops together directly on the piece. It is this major difference that makes crochet much easier to work with than knitting,” Coldiron points out.

It’s this fact that crochet is easier to work with that makes it perfect for someone who’s new to yarn-work (or rather yarn-art) as a whole.

#13 Crocheted My Wedding Dress

Image credits: Leggylett

#14 My Friend Loves Flowers And The Color Yellow So I Made This Hat. How’d I Do?

Image credits: blbrna

#15 A Pic Of My Self Crocheted Wedding Dress

Image credits: pugglik

According to Coldiron, crochet is fairly straightforward, easy enough to pick up as a self-taught hobby, and doesn’t rely so much on a wide range of tools and techniques. The limits are then your imagination and patience. And with how imaginative you Pandas are, I don’t see you running out of inspiration any time soon.

#16 A Little Bit Of Happiness On A Grey Saturday, One Of My Favourite Things I Had Done. Just Random Small Flower Patterns From All Over The Internet

Image credits: CrochetLady071

#17 My Mom Crochets And Donated 31 Blankets To Sick Children This Year

Image credits: seacogen

#18 Thought I Would Release My Own UFO Images Since The Pentagon Is Releasing Theirs

Image credits: Touwtjee

However, knitting appears to be a step up in terms of technique, at least according to Coldiron. “The great benefit of knitting is that, it supports sophisticated designs in intermediate to advanced stages. Some projects combine techniques—such as our shawl in stockinette stitch and embellished with a crochet trim. And you could always consider Tunisian crochet, which many consider to be the best of both techniques,” she points out that there really are no limits. So feel free to dip into crochet, knitting, sewing, and anything else for your next project!

#19 My First [fo]. I Fell In Love With A Girl Who Loves Daisies. She Showed Me A Picture Of A Blanket Like This. I Had No Clue How To Crochet, But She Really Liked That Blanket, So I Knew What I Had To Do

Image credits: RetfordOaks

#20 I Made My Old Girl A Sofa, To People Watch From

Image credits: CoughInNine

#21 Mom Doesn’t Have Reddit But I Think Her Work Is Pretty Awesome!

Image credits: parkbrat12

#22 Changed The Yarn And It Grew By 8 Sizes

Image credits: searchingforalobster

#23 Sometimes The Most Basic Pattern Can Be Surprisingly Effective

Image credits: yarn_over

#24 Rocket Ship Lovey I Made!

Image credits: oobigaloobi

#25 I Made My Dogs Broccoli Hats

Image credits: sookpit

#26 I Made A Giant Mushroom Pillow For My Apartment!

Image credits: lavendiere

#27 Yaay I Finally Finished My Lockdown Project (Started May 2020!) Annoyingly I Can't Get It To Look As Good In Pictures As In Real Life (Any Tips Lol). It's Only My 3rd Ever Project So I Am Really Chuffed With How It Turned Out

Image credits: star-pix

#28 My Mom Made Me A Kitty Couch

Image credits: kiwidodu

#29 A Sunflower Blanket I Crocheted As A Housewarming Gift

Image credits: arteporvida

#30 My Sil Loves Jeff Goldblum So I Crocheted Her A Blanket As A Surprise

Image credits: redlorelei

#31 I Cranked Out These Baby Yoda’s In A Week As Gifts (Excuse My Drawn On Sleeve, I Wear A Hijab And Don’t Show My Arms, And My Sleeves Were Pulled Up)

Image credits: Lack_of_Pulchritude

#32 I'm So Proud Of These But It's 100° Out

Image credits: bairose

#33 New To Crochet, Second Blanket I’ve Made! Basic But Still Cute

Image credits: SydneyMalmberg

#34 It Took Me Over A Month But I Finally Finished My Crochet Beaded Snake!

Image credits: turkeynips

#35 Finished This Bad Boy Tonight! Absolutely Adore How Gorgeous It Looks!

Image credits: topcatnikki

#36 I Just Finished These As A Commission! I Think They're Adorable And Bring Me Joy

Image credits: hookinghappiness

#37 Fo: I Made My Very First Crochet Dress. At First I Was Making A Shirt, But I Tweaked The Pattern A Little And Ended Up With This. Hopefully The First Of Many

Image credits: robbieleighjohnson

#38 You Asked To See How It Looks On... This Is It... For Those Who Asked For The Patern, I Didn't Use One... I Made It By Looking At A Picture And Trying To Recreate It

Image credits: CoolingSun

#39 It's Finally Done, I Crocheted All Gen 1 Pokemon!

Image credits: KHookCreations

#40 Crochet Enough?

Image credits: snapdragonbrand

#41 Wanted To Challenge Myself And See If I Could Crochet A Dress. Here Is The Result

Image credits: Abigail_N

#42 A Year's Worth Of Crochet

Image credits: theringbeller

#43 Made An Octopus Friend For My Son. Son Included For Scale

Image credits: nericksx

#44 Wanted To Share These Friends I'm Proud Of!

Image credits: SpecificMirror9739

#45 I Have Achieved Perfection

Image credits: Paper_Parasaur

#46 One Of My Projects I’ve Finished In Quarantine

Image credits: foreverjules

#47 I Finished One More Skirt. The Most Beloved Skirt In My Studio And The Customers Love It. What Do You Think?

Image credits: greenvulture_anna

#48 To Say I Am Proud Is The Understatement Of The Millenium

Image credits: MamaPHooks

#49 I Made 20 Bees For An Order - A Company That Makes Honey. I’d Be Okay If I Never Make Another Bee Again

Image credits: felixhorse

#50 Finally Finished My First Ever Wearable, A Granny Square Cardigan!

Image credits: modorrito

#51 Anyone Else Learn To Crochet Just To Make One Really Specific Thing?

Image credits: AzimOlatinwo

#52 Finished My First Ever Sweater/Dress And It Fits Perfectly! I'd Never Crocheted Anything Based On My Own Measurements Before, So I'm Pretty Happy With This

Image credits: opalmelody

#53 5 Months Later And I Finally Finished This Mosaic Blanket

Image credits: arieewinn

#54 Been Crocheting For Approx 2 Years And Can Honestly Say That This Mr Krabs Is The Best Thing I've Ever Made

Image credits: yugiphoto

#55 Rainbow Stegosaurus!! A Gift For A Kid Who Just Came Out As Lgbtq, And My Favorite Amigurumi I've Ever Made

Image credits: vegan-water

#56 Had To Sew The Last Parts Of This Rayquaza On The Train, Before Giving It To My Nephew. His Reaction Made All The Hard Work Worth It

Image credits: miemieh

#57 I Finished My Crochet Cosplay!

Image credits: transatlanticcrochet

#58 This Year's Costume For My Little Girl Is Finally Complete!

Image credits: chorski

#59 What Started As A Humble Crochet Cat Couch Became A Bona Fide Kitty Living Room

Image credits: actuallyashley21

#60 My Step-Mom Asked For A Boho Style Blanket For Her Birthday. This Was The Result!

Image credits: calee3

#61 Hoth: I Am Working On A Series Of Feminist Icons For My Brownie Unit. Here Is The First, Marie Curie

Image credits: Wolf_Mommy

#62 Only A Border Left To Make. And Maybe A Few Threads To Put Away With. But Happy Already. Stained Glass Wonder Blanket

Image credits: Wandel321

#63 I Crocheted An Orchid

Image credits: Buffyferry

#64 Can We Take A Minute To Appreciate Consistently-Sized Squares?

Image credits: ClumsyEthel

#65 It Took 4 Months But It Finally Happened! My Cat Actually Sat In The Sofa I Crocheted For Her

Image credits: katie22914

#66 My Scrap Yarn Project... Complete. Don't Throw Away Those Yarn Ends

Image credits: Leggylett

#67 The Crew

Image credits: snapdragonbrand

#68 Crocheted A Turtle

Image credits: crochet_by_jack

#69 I Designed This Cardigan For My Little Girl

Image credits: Eliesje

#70 I Made This As A Joke But Now I’m Accidentally In Love

Image credits: peskypescatarian

#71 All My Friends Have Been Making Babies And I’m Over Here Just Making Blankets So I Thought I Would Contribute To The Trend

Image credits: AverageCrafter

#72 Sharing My Vincent Van Gogh ”sunflower Starry Night” Inspired C2c Blanket I Just Finished

Image credits: 3Dddiea

#73 Matching Sweaters Has Always Been A Goal Of Mine! What Do You Think?

Image credits: thecrocheting

#74 Having Adhd Makes It A Challenge For Me To Finish Projects So I Am Super Proud To Have Completed Both Of These Cozy Socks!

Image credits: smilingsun

#75 Really Loved Making This Rainbow Galaxy Blanket!

Image credits: kingfisher345

#76 I've Crocheted Over 300 Unique Pokemon And Took A Massive Picture Of The Ones I Had On Hand

Image credits: pokemoncrochet

#77 I'm So Happy With My New Cup Cozy, It Has My Favorite Flowers On It

Image credits: blueyurble

#78 Finished My First Big Project! Ulita Doily Rug

Image credits: stitchin-away

#79 I Crocheted My Wedding Dress For My Lil Covid-Times Ceremony

Image credits: ofbooksandhooks

#80 I Made A Shark Its Not The Best But Im 14 And I Tried

Image credits: 69_nice-

#81 Crocheted My Wedding Dress!

Image credits: bonnieb13

#82 Even Though We Did A Basic Town Hall Wedding, I Made My Own Wedding Dress!

Image credits: aliquotboron

#83 This Is My Quarantine Blanket. First Time Posting Here. Blanket Is 99% Done But I Ran Out Of Yarn For The Border

Image credits: Jaxmypumpkinpie

#84 My Sil Is Pregnant With Twins And Her Shower Is Tomorrow. Feeling Really Happy With How This Set Turned Out!

Image credits: klo121

#85 In The Fff (Finally F*ing Finished) Pile: The Kaleidoscope Cal I've Been Posting Updates On For The Last Year. Finished Dimensions: 90" Square. 37" Tall 3yo For Scale

Image credits: aero_nerdette

#86 So Excited Guys! Tons Of People Who Like My Lattice Pie Potholder Said I Should Make A Berry Version Using Puff Stitches, And I Finally Got One Worked Up! It Just Looks Delicious

Image credits: lemony_peppermints

#87 Finally Finished My Most Ambitious Project

Image credits: aprilferrycrochet

#88 Over 2000 Yards, 12 Colors, 7 Months, And Over 50 Hours Of Working Time Later, I Have The Rainbow Sweater Of My Dreams!

Image credits: BlueLu

#89 Finished My First Ever Dress!

Image credits: RoomPortals

#90 Who Loves Matching Sets? I Do!

Image credits: sabmasterflex

#91 Finally Finished My First Sweater!

Image credits: RoomPortals

#92 Finally Finished After 2 Months

Image credits: scared_pistachio

#93 Marie Antoinette Inspired Wig

Image credits: sayruh1189

#94 First Time Post! I Made This For My Son For Christmas... He Received It In April

Image credits: bookworm21765

#95 Stepping Stone Blanket For My Little One

Image credits: thrilled32

#96 I Did It! I Released My First Pattern. How Nerve Wrecking?!? Anyway, For Anyone Possibly Looking For That Last Minute Holiday Gift, This Pocket Scarf Might Be The Perfect Thing For You. I Can’t Wait To See Where This Journey Takes Me

Image credits: Dkclinton

#97 Just Finished A Cherry Blossom Blanket For My Nans Birthday Tomorrow!

Image credits: creyonz

#98 Finished My Niece’s Christmas Present!

Image credits: pinkiepieisad3migod

#99 Pumpkin Pie Tissue Holder

Image credits: davycrochett

#100 Halfway Done Sewing The Zipper, Tried It On To Make Sure It Wasnt Sewing In Wonky.. Holy Sh*t You Guys.. I Never Thought This Was Going To Turn Out The Way It Is So Far

Image credits: thegingerunicorn427

#101 I Wanted To Share A Picture Of My Hard Work With A Group Of People Who Would Appreciate It

Image credits: slumber_queen

#102 I Went On A Really Long Crochet Hiatus Cause Of Some Personal Issues. My Hiatus Has Ended With My First Sweater!

Image credits: bigheadedkari

#103 I Might Be A Bit Obsessed With Making Sunflower Mandalas