☞ Question of the Week: Do you craft for yourself or for others?

Dear users and authors,
if you do crafts, are the items you make mostly for your own personal use—such as mesh shirts to wear or amigurumi for decoration—or do you craft mainly to give things away as gifts?

I make most things for myself. But I’ve also given hats, scarves, and shawls—or the occasional amigurumi—to family and friends as gifts.
I love that my talent always gives me the chance to give others a very special kind of happiness.
Something you’ve made yourself is so much nicer than “just” buying something at a store...

I often start a project for myself, and when a friend or my mom sees it, I’m often not “allowed” to keep it. Because someone has always fallen in love with my project. But I enjoy that too, so I just make the whole thing again for myself. 
But actually, it all balances out—right now I’m on a monster-making binge :-)
My husband left on a business trip on Monday, and I’m on sick leave. And now there are already three monsters sitting on my sofa. But two of them have already been “adopted” via WhatsApp. :-)

I feel similarly to Arni. I’m actually the one with the yarn and the hook, but at the same time, I’m also the one with the fewest crocheted items.
  On the one hand, I feel the same way as Wollness Oase, but I’ve cut back on that now and recently asked a mother whether her child appreciates my work. Otherwise, I’d also be happy to buy something from the store as a birthday gift.
If someone appreciates it, I’m also happy to give it away, but unfortunately we live in a world where not everyone recognizes how much love goes into a little amigurumi. 

Hi Schoenes-aus-Wolle,
You’re absolutely right that not everyone appreciates how much work and love goes into things like that. Right now, my monsters are a form of therapy for me. I’m not doing well, but when one of these little monsters is finished and looks at me, I feel better.
:-)
It might not be entirely normal, but if it helps...  
And if I can’t find anyone for my little creatures anymore, I’ll probably take them to a refugee shelter or a children’s hospice. But for now, I still still have a few requests to fulfill.

Hi Arni,
I think amigurumi, in particular, have a really positive effect. I’ve heard this many times before and have experienced firsthand how therapeutic it can be to create something—and when it’s something cute peeking out at the world, that makes it even more special.
I hope you feel better very soon. :-)

Both. I crochet almost exclusively amigurumi; sometimes I have a (special) person in mind whom I’d like to give one to, and sometimes I crochet an amigurumi just for myself or my mom: “Make me one…!!!” ;) And then there are other amigurumi I make just for people in general, like little Halloween keychains for kids or small keychains to give as birthday gifts for people of all ages.

For me, it varies. I keep hats, gloves, and the occasional decorative item for myself. I give a lot of it away to friends—they’re always grateful recipients. Last winter, I distributed a huge box of items to refugees.
But since all my amigurumi have now taken over my entire study and I no longer have little kids, I wanted to find out soon where there’s a hospice or children’s home near me. I’ll donate everything there—they can surely make better use of it than I can.

Since having kids, I just don’t get around to making anything for myself anymore.
It’s always: "Mom, please, the dragon," "Mom, please, a pony," "Mom, please, a new rattle animal." And Mom is good and starts crocheting away. I also really enjoy bringing my children’s ideas to life.
It’s also reached the point in our family that my son’s friends (between 8 and 9 years old) would rather ask me for something handmade than the umpteenth Lego set from the store—right now, the figures from Star Wars.
And it’s already starting with my little daughter, too. Rings, necklaces, and little horses are being requested. Handmade one-of-a-kinds. And they’re all proud to receive something that no one else in the world has.

I don’t craft for myself or for anyone else—I craft just for the sake of crafting :-). What happens to the items afterward varies: I take my lanterns to a nearby preschool right before the St. Martin’s Day parade, and the gift wrappings are either simply given away to people who want them, or I use the handmade gift wrapping to wrap a present to give away myself. It’s much the same with Advent calendars, decorations, and so on—the items are designed and crafted completely independently of any specific need, and what happens to them is decided afterward.

I make almost everything exclusively for myself.
If I end up wearing it, I usually make another one for friends or family if they like it.
I knit socks for the whole extended family. That way, I always have a gift on hand that brings joy. The same goes for handkerchiefs with a crocheted edging, which are always very well received as gifts.

I do a bit of both. Sometimes I make things for myself or for our home. But most of the time, I actually make things for other people. Of course, other people’s projects always come first, so I tend to put myself last. I’m always really happy when I get to make something for others, too. Of course, it’s best when they give me free rein so I can turn it into a pattern right away. But I also enjoy just crocheting for the sake of it, without having to take notes or take photos. Right now, I’m waiting for my yarn order to arrive, and then I’ll crochet two new laundry baskets, followed by two seat cushions—one for my son and one for my niece. I’ll just make them off the top of my head, and that’s actually really relaxing.