Why Most People Skip This And Wish They Hadn't
I started noticing a pattern when I began helping people with their crochet work a few years back. Almost everyone was using the same generic advice from three or four sources, and it never seemed to cover the actual problems they were running into. That's when I started curating something different. I call it Tips For Crochet Weekly, and it's basically just a practical, no-bullshit newsletter that goes out every Monday morning. It covers things like tension consistency across different yarn weights, how to actually read a pattern without getting lost in round three, and which stitch substitutions actually work versus which ones just look wrong when you finish the project. Nothing fancy. Just stuff that people need when they're sitting at their kitchen table at 11pm wondering why their blanket isn't laying flat.
What You Actually Get With Tips For Crochet Weekly
Each issue is usually between 600 and 900 words. I keep it tight because nobody has time for fluff. The core sections are a technique deep-dive, a project idea that matches whatever season we're in, a common mistake breakdown, and occasionally a reader question that actually comes up enough to matter. Last month we spent 400 words just on why your double crochet edges curl and three different ways to fix it depending on whether you're working in the round or flat. There are no sponsored links stuffed into the content. The yarn brands I mention are ones people have actually written in asking about. If someone says "I bought this acrylic blend and it's pilling after two washes," I talk about that specific yarn and what to do instead of pushing a product. It's why the open rate sits around 68% and the unsubscribe rate is under 2%. People actually read it. The best way to get it is through the sign-up form on the homepage. You put in your email and you're in. It's free. No paid tier, no trial period, no upsell. I run this out of a spare bedroom and it costs me about $12 a month for the mailing list service. That's it. If you want to support it, you can buy the occasional pattern bundle I put together, but it's not required and nobody should feel pressured to spend money to get the weekly tips.
How To Actually Use It Without Wasting Time
Here's where most people go wrong. They get the newsletter, they skim it, and then they close their laptop and never come back. That's not how you get value out of this. I want you to pick one tip per week and actually use it. Not all of them. Just one. Pick a project you're already working on. If you have something half-finished sitting on your couch, that's your test subject. When the newsletter talks about tension control with cotton yarn, try it on that project. When it covers reading stitch counts, apply it to your current pattern. A lot of people tell me they only read these tips when they're already stuck on a project, and by then they're too frustrated to absorb anything. Start early in the process so the advice has somewhere to land. I also recommend keeping a little notebook or a notes app dedicated to this. Write down the tip, the date, and whether it worked or not. Three months in, you'll have a record of what actually helps you and what you can ignore. I did this and discovered that about 30% of the general advice circulating online doesn't work for me because of my grip style. Knowing that saved me hours of unnecessary adjustments on future projects.
Get the Full Details
A Few Things Nobody Tells You Up Front
First, this isn't a beginner-only thing. I've had crocheters with twenty years under their belt write in saying the weekly tips helped them unlearn bad habits they'd developed early on and never noticed. There was a whole issue last spring about how to adjust a pattern when your gauge runs slightly off, and a guy named David sent me a photo of a shawl he made using that method. The original pattern said it would be 42 inches wide. His came out 38. He blocked it anyway and wore it for a year. That's the kind of practical problem-solving this is built for. Second, the tips don't always work because every person's hands are different. I once wrote an entire issue about using a tapestry needle to weave in ends while you work rather than after. A reader wrote back and said it made her wrists ache because she couldn't see where she was going. Fair point. I added a follow-up note in the next issue explaining that if you're working with light-colored yarn on dark yarn, it's fine, but if you're doing reverse contrast, you might want to stick with traditional weaving after the fact. Not every tip is universal. The third thing is that the format has limitations. Some techniques are genuinely harder to explain in 700 words than in a video. I tried swapping to video once for six weeks and the completion rate dropped by half. People aren't watching twelve-minute tutorials between classes or after work. They're opening an email and reading it in two minutes. The written format is slower for complex stuff but it reaches more people who actually consume it.
Another limitation worth mentioning: I don't cover amigurumi in depth. The audience that writes in about amigurumi is loud, but it's a different craft than what I focus on. If you're primarily making stuffed animals, the Tips For Crochet Weekly content will touch on stuffing techniques and safety eyes but it won't give you the specialized pattern math you'd need. In that case, I usually recommend looking at separate resources instead of staying here. Being honest about what something isn't helps you find what it is.
How The Content Gets Made
I research each week based on what's coming up in the season and what readers have been asking. In January and February, that's heavy sweaters and colorwork. In July and August, it's summer tops and lightweight accessories. The mistake breakdown sections come directly from reader submissions. Someone will send a photo of their finished piece with a note saying "why does mine look like this?" and I'll use that as the basis for the next week's lesson. The project ideas are either ones I've made myself or ones other people have sent in and verified work. I test everything. Before a tip goes out, I make a swatch or a small sample using the recommended method. If it doesn't work on me, it doesn't go in the newsletter. I've cut three tips this year because the math didn't hold up when I actually tried it with the yarn weights people use most.
Where To Find It
The main hub is the Tips For Crochet Weekly website. You can sign up at the top of the page. There's also an archived section where past issues live if you want to catch up. I don't post much on social media, which is why the website is the only real place to find everything. The archive is searchable by topic, stitch type, and skill level. If you'd rather not deal with email, there's a free Google Doc that gets updated with the same content on Mondays. It's a bit clunky to navigate but it works if you don't want your inbox cluttered. The link is on the homepage under the subscribe button. I don't answer questions in the comments section of the site. The most efficient way to reach me is through the contact form with "Tip Request" in the subject line. I read every one. If it's something other people are likely dealing with, it comes up in a future issue. If it's too niche, I'll reply with a short answer and point you toward whatever resource I can think of. I can't solve every problem personally but I try not to leave anyone hanging.
Final Word On Whether This Is Worth Your Time
It depends on what you're looking for. If you want detailed pattern PDFs with stitch-by-stitch diagrams, this isn't it. If you want someone to tell you what to make this weekend and how to make it, this is closer to that. The content is practical and aimed at people who are already crocheting and want to get better at the things that don't show up in beginner tutorials. Tension control. Reading patterns under time pressure. Finishing edges cleanly. Fixing mistakes without ripping back. I've been putting this together for about four years now. The list has grown from around 300 people to roughly 8,000. Most of that growth is word of mouth from people who found it through Reddit threads or Facebook groups and came back to subscribe properly. That's the signal I care about. If it were working for no one, people wouldn't keep telling their friends about it.
