How to Organize Your Crochet WIPs (+ Free Printable Planner!)
I love starting new creative projects. It’s what I do. Crochet, knitting, macrame… you name it.
But finishing them? …that’s another story.
Recently I realized I don’t even have a crochet hobby.
I have more of a shiny-object-fueled, disorganized, yarn hoarding, crochet guilt machine.
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Half-finished projects are spilling out of cute wicker baskets in every spare corner of my craft room.
And several other rooms…
There’s random yarn I definitely bought for something important… but I’ve long since forgotten what the heck it was.
I usually shove it all into various baskets and bins, and then months later stumble upon it and think “wow, just imagine all the dust mites I’ll be bathing myself in when I decide to use this.”
(And it doesn’t matter how cute said baskets and bins are. When you have 57 of them scattered around your living space, let’s be real. It’s not cute and cozy. It’s chaos.)
Sometimes, I buy yarn for a specific project, stash it in a bin and promptly forget it exists.
Then months later, I stumble upon it and think “hey, free yarn!”, use it for a new project, and…
…eventually remember the original project, and realize that now I don’t have enough left to finish it.
Boo.
The main, overarching theme of my creative life is that I’m constantly starting new things before finishing the old ones.
And to be perfectly honest, I’m fine with how my brain works.
I don’t even want to pretend that I’m going to be a one-project-at-a-time kind of person.
But, I’m sick of feeling guilty about my craft stash.
I’m sick of forgetting where I was in a project or accidentally abandoning what I was working on.
And I’m especially sick of not finishing more of what I start.
Here’s what I know for sure:
- I need creative variety.
- I need to be able to bounce around to different projects based on my energy and mood.
- I enjoy having a larger, mindless project I can fall back on and maybe one more focused project going at the same time, or something smaller that’s easy to take on the go.
So, instead of trying to become a totally different, organized person and guilting myself for falling short, I built a system that works with my brain.
Doing that has made managing my WIP’s a heck of a lot easier.
And today I’m going to share that system with you, so you can use it too.
The Real Goal Was Never “One Project at a Time”
Once I got honest with myself, I realized my goal was never actually to limit myself to one project.
My goal was this:
Finish things in a reasonable amount of time – without feeling overwhelmed or guilty.
We only have so much creative energy in a day. The more projects we pour our energy into, the slower everything moves.
So instead of eliminating variety, I created some boundaries.
The 3-Project Rule
Here’s the law I made for myself:
I can have no more than three active WIPs at a time.
Not seven.
Not twenty-seven.
Three.
Three is enough to:
- Keep things interesting
- Match my mood
- Prevent boredom
But not so many that I feel buried under unfinished work, yarn, and guilt.
This doesn’t mean I only have three WIPs.
Ha. As if.
It means only three WIP’s get “active” status at any given time.
As for the rest? They have a home too. We’ll get to that in a minute.
The WIP Tote System
This is where the magic happens.
1. The Active WIP Tote
I keep my three active projects inside one designated tote.
Each project lives inside its own large zip-top bag (the sturdy 5-gallon ones with handles are amazing for blankets and bigger projects).
Inside each bag:
- The yarn for that project
- The hook
- A copy of the pattern (if needed)
- My WIP Notes sheet (more on that below)
I also keep a small accessory pouch inside the tote with:
- Scissors
- Stitch markers
- Yarn needle
- Pencil
So when I want to crochet, I grab one project bag and the accessory pouch – and that’s it.
- No hunting for hooks.
- No stealing yarn from another project.
- No wondering where I left off.
Everything lives together.
The WIP Notes Sheet (The Real Game Changer)
If you’ve ever picked up a project after a few weeks and thought, “What was I doing here?” – this will help you out with that.
The WIP Notes sheet is basically a snapshot of everything important about the project:
- Project name
- Hook size
- Yarn brand and color
- Dye lot
- Date started
- Target finish date
- Any notes I’ll need later
Because no matter how good your intentions are… you will forget.
This removes all guesswork.
And yes – I made it into a printable so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
I like to fill mine out, fold it up and just toss it in the zip top bag with my project.
It’s free for all my awesome newsletter subscribers, just sign up below and you can download it and print out as many as you need.
The “On-Deck” Tote (Because Inspiration Happens)
Now let’s get real, folks.
- Sometimes there’s a crazy yarn sale
- Sometimes you see an glorious new pattern
- Sometimes inspiration hits and you just gotta follow it
Instead of pretending that won’t happen, I created a second tote:
The On-Deck Tote.
This is where future projects live.
The rule?
Everything needed for a project has to fit inside this tote – in a bag – ready to go.
When I add something to the On-Deck tote, I fill out the WIP Notes sheet immediately and tuck it inside the bag. That way nothing gets forgotten.
If the on-deck tote is full?
I wait. (gasp… I know… but trust me on this.)
I’ll write the idea down on my Future Project Ideas sheet (which is also included with the printable WIP Notes sheet), but I won’t start it yet.
When I finish one of my three active projects, something from the On-Deck tote graduates to active status. 🎓
It keeps the excitement… without letting things spiral into yarn goblin chaos.
Why This Crochet WIP System Works
This system works because:
- Nothing gets dusty and forgotten (which matters if you have eczema, asthma, or just don’t love inhaling mysterious particles or dust mites).
- Yarn stays with its intended project.
- I don’t accidentally cannibalize yarn from something unfinished.
- I always know where I left off.
- I don’t feel guilty every time I walk past a half-finished blanket hanging out of a basket.
It doesn’t require me to become a hyper-organized minimalist.
It just gives my creativity structure.
And I think that’s what I’ve been craving and maybe you have been too.
Gentle creative structure that doesn’t feel suffocating.
So…. How Many WIPs Do You Have Right Now?
Hmmm????
Be honest.
How many projects are currently in progress right now?
Three?
Eight?
Twenty-something we’re not ready to say out loud right now? 😅
Leave a comment below and tell me.
This is a judgment-free zone. Trust me, I fully understand.
And if you’d like to try this system for yourself, be sure to grab the free WIP Notes and planning printables above and give it a shot.
You don’t have to become a different kind of crocheter.
You just need a system that works with the kind you already are.
Looking for some more crochet projects to add to your WIP pile?
Haha… I know, I know. But if you are, here are my latest: