🎃 Apparently, I Should Just Stop Following Patterns

Crochet 🧶
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So, I decided to make a pumpkin. :yarn::jack_o_lantern:

And because I am a responsible crocheter who totally follows instructions, I made the first one by following the pattern exactly.

Except… there was one tiny problem.

I genuinely started CRYING. :sob:

Not because the pumpkin was difficult to crochet… but because of the way the pattern was written. My brain was fighting for its LIFE trying to understand what it was telling me to do. :skull:

I was sitting there like:

“Okay… read it again.”
“Nope. Still don’t understand.”
“Maybe if I read it slower.”
“NOPE.”
“WHY DOES THIS MAKE NO SENSE?! :sob:”

At one point, I think I was less of a crocheter and more of a person having a personal crisis involving yarn.

BUT I persevered. :saluting_face:

I followed those instructions. I counted those stitches. I questioned every decision that led me to that moment.

And eventually…

:jack_o_lantern: THE FIRST PUMPKIN WAS BORN.

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And honestly? It turned out pretty cute!

So naturally, after surviving that experience, I decided:

“I’m never doing that again.” :skull:

Instead of following the instructions for the next pumpkins, I decided to just eyeball the entire thing.

No counting.
No carefully following rounds.
No staring at the pattern like it’s written in an ancient language.

Just me looking at the pumpkin and going:

“Yeah… that looks about right.” :eye::mouth::eye:

And somehow…

I THINK I LIKE THESE MORE. :sob:

So obviously, I made another one.

And another.

And before I knew it, I had three pumpkins created through pure vibes, guesswork, and questionable decision-making.

But enough talking…

:drum::drum::drum: DRUMROLL PLEASE :drum::drum::drum:

HERE ARE THE THREE PUMPKINS I MADE BY COMPLETELY DOING MY OWN THING: :jack_o_lantern::jack_o_lantern:

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And THEN I put them next to the original pattern-following pumpkin…

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AND THAT’S WHEN I REALIZED… HOW DIFFERENT THEY ACTUALLY ARE. :skull:

:open_book: Pattern: “Please follow these instructions.”

:brain: My brain: “Absolutely not.”

:eyes: My eyeballs: “We got this.”

:yarn: My hands: “Say less.”

:sob: My sanity: “Please stop.”

Honestly, I think I may have discovered my true crochet talent:

Not following instructions. :tada:

Maybe patterns are just suggestions at this point.

10/10 would probably ignore the instructions again. :jack_o_lantern::joy:

45 Likes
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Lol, I genuinely loved reading this post, it was so funny and relatable at the same time! :laughing: Your pumpkins are adorable, and I think they look so much better than the one with the pattern! :pink_heart::jack_o_lantern:

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Well I guess that is a skill because not everyone can do that!

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lol that’s so real. I have such a hard time testing because I usually change a bunch of parts to match what I want (like when I’m done it’s maybe half the pattern, half random stuff my brain liked better)

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Your pumpkins :jack_o_lantern: definitely look better than the other one.

I wonder if the pattern you were trying to follow was an AI generated pattern?

When I come a cross a pattern that isn’t written in a way that I prefer, I rewrite the instructions on a piece of paper so they’re easier to follow.

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Thats a good idea! I have never done that before! Thank you for the great idea!

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Ok.. hear me out I would do what you did… buttttttt my brain doesn’t work that way so I would just put it in my crochet bag to never be seen again!

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8

Honestly, freehanding takes talent! Those pumpkins are great!!

On another note, pumpkins are like my kryptonite :sob: i have trouble with every pattern i try for them

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This is sooo relatable, and those pumpkin are so cute!!!

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Your result is so beautiful

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WOAH! the pumpkins you free handed are amazing, and so realistic!

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Hahahahah it looks so much better!

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Wow that’s amazing, I guess following well explained patterns is ok but if its hard to understand don’t do it

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That must be harsh

They are also better than the pattern one

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Patterns are ind sugestions for experts…but totally needed for starters
:wink:

Yours are just bigger pumpkins. I will be making a pumpkin hat soon​:wink:

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You’re hilarious! :joy:

Also, the freehanded pumpkins look AMAZING! I think you have the right idea!

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Oh lol, I can totally relate and do this all the time! I just look at a picture and make the item :joy:. I can’t tell you how many times Ive had to do this while testing when the instructions make no sense to me!

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Ngl, I would do the same thing, not for a test, but just a random pattern I bought/aquired

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I feel like one shouldn’t do that while testing, the point of thesting to see if the pattern instructions are clear.

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I do make sure they are clear, if they aren’t then I look to see what they meant to accomplish by the pattern by looking at photos and recreating it then let the designer know about the issue and how I solved it.

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