DIY Trends 2014/2015

So, which of these trends do you think will stick around past 2015? I mean, which ones will last and which ones won’t?
The owl trend is really persistent—I don’t think it’ll fade away anytime soon. And neither will the loop scarves and storage organizers. As for upcycling, I think we’ll be seeing even more of that. And amigurumi, of course—there are almost endless possibilities for what you can make with that.
What do you guys think—which trends will stick around, and in what direction do you think DIY will go from here?

Dear muetzekatze,
I feel exactly the same way as you do—the owls, storage baskets, loops, and upcycling will all stick around and continue to develop and branch out further. The selection will likely just keep getting bigger. That’s sure to delight the many fans of these craft options. I also believe that the range of options across all crafting techniques will keep expanding. And I also assume that 2015 will bring new possibilities—knooking, knitting with a crochet hook will likely gain even more fans, and felting will also receive more attention. Of course, I don’t know if there will really be anything completely new; I don’t spend enough time online or in crafting groups for that. Still, I think there will be a lot happening, especially in the crafts section. There’s such incredibly beautiful and high-quality paper out there that you can use to make all sorts of things yourself and create lovely decorative items. In my opinion, the DIY trend is by no means going to slow down. Certain elements of it are, of course, subject to trends and fluctuations, but the DIY sector itself will certainly not diminish. I still have that one article from Brigitte in the back of my mind—I linked to it here on the forum a few months ago. In it, a woman argued that the DIY trend—or “this whole crochet diploma thing”—needs to finally come to an end. That’s not going to happen. One article alone certainly won’t end the DIY trend—there are simply too many people who enjoy creative crafts. Of course, you don’t have to make all those things yourself—there’s a huge selection of clothing, decor, and toys in stores and online—but if you want to, there’s a wide variety of patterns and materials available, which I really appreciate.

I think there will be a lot happening with amigurumi again in 2015—I completely agree with you on that. There are so many patterns for cute amigurumi—you can’t possibly make them all. There are just too many. But they’re lovely to look at, so you just pick out the highlights. Owl fans are still getting their money’s worth, and I think the selection will get much, much bigger. The owl trend is clearly not a short-lived fad for just one season; it’s become firmly established. That still amazes me, but those cute owls are just wonderful. I don’t think any other animal or amigurumi will be able to take the owl’s top spot anytime soon, since owls are in high demand not only as amigurumi but also as decorative elements on scarves and hats.

To sum it up, I can only say that DIY will continue to diversify, and that the selection in all areas will become wider, more colorful, more opulent, and even more appealing.

Sunny greetings despite the snow
Sidney

Hi Sidney
I definitely think it’s true that the DIY trend isn’t slowing down, even if a single article in Brigitte might say otherwise :)
I also think it’ll keep branching out further, just as you nicely put it, but it’s actually been branching out ever since the invention of the internet. Before the internet, there were knitting pattern magazines and things like that, and maybe the occasional sewing circle. But that was mostly limited to local areas, I’d say, and I think the ability to communicate with other crafters was rather limited. The way things are now, with the internet and everything, trends like the owl trend can of course spread much faster. Back then, that probably didn’t happen so quickly, because magazines with patterns didn’t come out daily, but only every few weeks.
You know, I just think that crafters have been around for thousands of years. For a long time, it was more a necessity than something people did for fun. Back then, it was about needing clothes or possibly earning a living by spinning or sewing. Nowadays, providers make money with DIY patterns, but not directly with sewing and such. I think some of them also take commissions and knit a scarf now and then, for example, but most of the money is probably made from the ideas and the patterns rather than from commissions.
But maybe that’s drifting a bit off topic. I started a thread recently about the development of craft techniques and such, so I’ll have to take another look and see whether I can still get anyone interested in it.
I’m only active here on crazypatterns, so I have no idea what else is going on around the internet when it comes to crafts.
Well, I do watch a few related videos on YouTube now and then.
I just think it’s a shame that there’s not much going on here in the forum. I’d like to see more discussions, or rather more posts in the discussions, but that’s an old topic by now.
Maybe that’ll change in 2015. That would be really nice.

You can always use storage baskets. Personally, though, I don’t like making them myself, because I’d have doubts about whether I could make them sturdy enough.
It’s no use if the storage basket falls apart. I’d rather buy a ready-made one, but I really enjoy looking at the patterns.
If you’re talented at crafts, you can make an incredible number of incredibly beautiful things.
But you don’t have to be a pro to crochet. Crochet is generally seen as something for beginners, because you only need one hook and you see results quickly.
And you can make pretty things with it.
I think it would be great if there continue to be lots of patterns for beginners and advanced crafters in 2015. And of course lots of amigurumi.
Baby items are another big topic. There are loads of them here on crazypatterns. I had no idea there were so many babies :)
But the things are just so adorable.

About the owl trend you mentioned again, that it’s not a short-lived trend: I believe that now too. I just thought it was some kind of hype.
Everyone makes an owl once or something and then that’s it, but I think it’s more that people want to crochet, knit, sew, or craft just about anything as long as there’s an owl on it and it looks cute.
That surprises me a bit, because until now I didn’t know owls were such popular animals. But you never stop learning.
It’ll be exciting to see whether there will ever be another animal that becomes just as popular.
Oh, and those little guardian angels are also selling like hotcakes, in all shapes and variations.
I think there’ll be even more patterns for them in 2015, since the demand is so high.

I actually always thought the market for patterns would eventually become saturated, but I don’t think that can happen.
Since people do crafts for the sheer enjoyment of it and not out of necessity, there’s always a demand for something new.
And of course it always has to be more colorful and more imaginative.
But that’s pretty great and nice to look at, because it increases the selection.
Unfortunately, I think you still have to limit yourself to a few patterns, at least if you’re not a pro when it comes to making them, because you just can’t casually work through thousands of patterns. If you do a lot of crafts, you also have to buy a lot of yarn and need a lot of space for it all.

Well.
I’m curious whether anyone else wants to say something about it.
Anyway, I also wish you sunny snowy days.

Hi!

So I do hang out in a few Facebook groups that focus on crafts, and my impression—especially over the last few days—is that some people have used the holidays to try out new techniques. In particular, I’ve been coming across Tunisian crochet more and more often lately. It’s actually fun—it’s about as hard or easy as “regular” crochet—and it offers completely different patterns and color combinations. If you like, you can achieve a knitted look using just one hook. I could imagine this technique becoming even more widespread.

Otherwise, it seems the fox motif is on the rise, though I haven’t really noticed it myself yet and have only read about it in various discussions.

I wish you all a happy start to 2015!

Maike

Dear all
what I appreciate about crafts / DIY right now is that you can basically do whatever you like and don’t have to follow other people’s wishes. You can follow the trends or not. You can try out the popular techniques or not, but in specialist shops and online you can always find something lovely on all the interesting topics and techniques. That’s how I imagine the perfect hobby. Sissela