Crochet by the clock, not by the wish
Most project lists are sorted by how pretty the photo is. That is not useful at 9pm the night before a birthday, and it is actively unhelpful three weeks before a craft fair. This tool sorts the other way round: you give it the hours you actually have, and it hands back the projects that fit inside them, biggest first, with what you will have left over. Every pattern in the shop carries an estimated make time, so the ranking runs on the catalogue itself rather than on a hunch.
How the make times are worked out
There is no make-time field on a crochet pattern, so this tool estimates one, and shows the working.
- An archetype baseline. Each pattern is matched to an object type — coaster, cup cozy, wash cloth, kindle sleeve, beanie, tote — and each object type carries a baseline of hands-on minutes for someone who has made one before. A coaster is 40 minutes, a cup cozy 50, a wash cloth an hour, an adult beanie 210, a market tote 300.
- Scaled by the actual yardage. Every project has a fixed part (setting up, the crown, the border, weaving in) and a variable part that scales with how much fabric there is. The estimate is 35% fixed plus 65% scaled by that pattern's yardage against its archetype, so a 580-yard shawl is not costed like a 300-yard one.
- Adjusted for your yarn weight. Thicker yarn means fewer stitches for the same finished size. Times are multiplied by 1.60 for lace, 1.30 sport, 1.15 DK, 1.00 worsted, 0.80 bulky and 0.65 super bulky.
A worked example
Say you have 45 minutes, worsted in the basket, and it is for a gift. Nothing over 45 adjusted minutes is shown at all, so beanies, sleeves and bags disappear immediately. What is left is the coaster and cozy tier: a coaster at 40 minutes leaves 5 minutes spare, a cup cozy at 45 lands exactly on the line, a facial scrubby at 15 minutes leaves 30. The coaster and cozy rank top because they use nearly all of the window — finishing something whole beats starting something big. Switch the yarn to bulky and the same 45 minutes buys a 50-minute cozy (50 × 0.80 = 40) with 5 minutes to spare.
Market prep mode
Sellers have the opposite problem: not "what fits in this gap" but "I have 30 hours before the fair, what do I make". Market mode takes your total hours and splits them the way a table that actually sells is built — roughly 50% into fast movers (under an hour each: cozies, coasters, soap savers, scrunchies), 35% into mid-size items (one to two and a half hours: wash cloths, sleeves, pouches) and 15% into one or two anchor pieces that draw people over. It then divides each share by the make time to give you counts, and spends whatever rounding slack is left on more fast movers rather than handing it back — an hour of "spare" in a plan is an hour you will not use. Each band is spread across different categories, because a table of five cozies and nothing else looks like a stall that ran out of ideas. Depth still beats variety overall: four or five designs made deep sells better than fifteen singletons.
These are estimates and your mileage will vary. They assume a steady hobbyist pace with no interruptions and no first-time learning curve. Your first of anything takes noticeably longer than your fifth. Treat every number as ±30%, and once you have made one, time yourself and use your own number. If you are pricing your work, put your real time into the pricing calculator rather than ours.
Make times at a glance — worsted weight
| Object | Hands-on time | Worsted yards |
|---|---|---|
| Applique, flower, tassel | 15–25 min | 10–25 |
| Scrunchie, keychain | 25 min | 20–25 |
| Bookmark | 30 min | 30–35 |
| Granny square (6 in) | 30 min | 40–60 |
| Coaster | 40 min | 30–60 |
| Soap saver | 45 min | 40 |
| Cup or mug cozy | 45–50 min | 40–60 |
| Wash cloth | 1 h | 80–100 |
| Ear warmer | 1 h | 70–90 |
| Baby hat | 1.5–2 h | 110 |
| Kindle sleeve | 2.5 h | 120–180 |
| Toddler purse | 2.5 h | 150–250 |
| Adult beanie | 3–4 h | 150–250 |
| Scarf | 5–7 h | 300–450 |
| Market tote | 5–8 h | 400–600 |
Questions people actually ask
What can I crochet in an hour?
In worsted: a coaster, a cup cozy, a soap saver, a scrunchie, a bookmark, a granny square, an applique, a small ornament. A wash cloth or ear warmer sits right on the hour line. A beanie does not — allow three to four hours.
What are good last-minute crochet gifts?
Anything under about ninety minutes that reads as finished rather than rushed. Sets beat singles: three coasters banded with ribbon look like a present, one coaster looks like a sample. A soap saver with a nice bar of soap inside is the highest gift-value-per-minute thing on the list.
How long does a crochet beanie take?
Three to four hours in worsted for a repeat maker, including crown decreases, brim and weaving in. Bulky cuts it to roughly two to two and a half. A baby hat is about ninety minutes. Bobble and cable textures add 20–40%.
What crochet projects sell fast at craft markets?
Small, useful, under about an hour each: cup cozies, coasters, soap savers, wash cloths, scrunchies, bookmarks, seasonal pumpkins. They sit in the cash-in-hand price band and let you carry depth. Anchor pieces pull people to the table but rarely pay for their own hours.
How many items should I make for a table?
A first table usually wants 30–60 small items across four or five designs, plus two or three anchors. Market mode works that out from the hours you actually have instead of from optimism.
Are these times accurate?
They are estimates, marked as such. ±30% is a fair allowance, and the first one you make of anything will be slower than the number here. Once you have timed yourself, believe yourself.