Fiber is expensive, tools are expensive, but your time is limited so you need to balance your budget against your fiber habit. Here are a few craft agnostic ways I do that, let me know your favorite budget friendly tips too:

1. Local yarn stores are an integral part of our community, without them we are just buying yarn as a commodity item on line which is a sad state of affairs.  When you want to make something but the yarn is too costly, check out yarnsub.com for ideas on substitutes that might be similar and more affordable.  Never be afraid to ask the shop for a discount if you are buying a large quantity of yarn. The shop would rather not have that one random skein left from a bag, offer to buy the whole bag at a discount. Still not getting to a price point you’re comfortable with, try an online local yarn store like LittkeKnits.com the prices here cannot be beat unless you have a wholesale account somewhere.

2. When picking colors for your project, check your project left overs first, there could be a color story in there that works just fine.  Align them by quantity and get started then as you go you can add additional yarns as needed. Works really well for projects like crocheted bags, tea towels, trivets and other accessories.  I recently made a bag out of left over cotton yarns, net cost $6.74, I wanted to splurge on a set of “vegan leather” AKA “pleather” handles because I’m not a fan of crocheted handles. 

3. Borrow books at the local library instead of buying a copy new or used.  Dirty little secret here, authors get less than 1% of the retail price of a book when you buy it from a book store or on line. If you really want to support an author, buy the book directly from them or take it out of the library and buy them a cup of coffee on Kofi. 

4. Take apart old projects that no longer suit your lifestyle and repurpose the yarn. I do this a lot in my business, keeps my closet tidy and my yarn budget a lot smaller than it could be.  Bonus points if you take this one step further and repurpose yarn from projects you might buy at a local thrift shop.

5. Speaking of thrift shops, try them for yarn too, you never know what they have in stock.  On line auctions like shopgoodwill.com might also be an option, I buy  crochet hooks and knitting needles in bulk from them for classes to keep expense low for my students. I’ve also found knitting machine parts on this site.

6. Look for ways to repurpose different tools for different purposes. For example, do you really need a set of Tunisian hooks to make a purse strap? Maybe not, perhaps you can use a simple crochet hook that does not have an ergonomic handle to get enough stitches onto the hook at once to complete each row. Or could you borrow the tools you need at your local library? The new “thing” in libraries is a “library of things” where you can borrow everything from hooks to needles and sewing machines just like taking out a book. It’s a great way to try out a new tool before you make a purchase.