Kat Thimmesch tried to learn crochet in 2018 and gave up. She made a set of oddly shaped little Yodas from a kit, no two the same, and a pair of baby booties that came out fairy sized. Too many failures, so she put the hook down. Five years and three children later she picked it back up, and within a few months she was making a mermaid doll for a woman going through breast cancer treatment. Here is her story.
The First Attempt That Did Not Work
Kat's first try at crochet came while she was expecting her first child. She had energy for very little, but her mind would not sit still, and she wanted something creative to do with her hands.
It did not go well. The Star Wars kit produced a family of mismatched Yodas. The baby booties came out so small they would have fit a fairy, and to this day she has no idea why. She got discouraged, decided crochet was not for her, and stopped.
A Third Baby, and a Second Try
Years later, after her third child was born, Kat came across a Facebook group for amigurumi. The people in it were kind and genuinely helpful, and that made all the difference. She decided to try again.
Her first post to the group was a set of small crochet hearts. The feedback she got back helped her enormously, and this time the skill started to stick.
The Advice That Made It Stick
Almost immediately, she nearly stopped again. Three children take up a lot of a day, and crochet felt like one thing too many.
Around that time she started seeing a therapist, who told her something that changed how she thought about it. Keep crocheting. Kat had stopped prioritizing anything for herself, and crochet was easy to carry around, easy to pick up, easy to put down. It was hers.
She has made time for it ever since. It soothes her anxiety, and it sets a different example for her children than being on her phone. They want to craft alongside her now, and they help.
Making Dolls for Someone Who Needed Them
A friend of Kat's mother, Jane, asked her to make two dolls. That request is what led her to Crochetree in the first place. She went looking for patterns, found the site, and was cautious about it, so she joined the Facebook group first to see whether it was legitimate. Once she bought and downloaded her first pattern, she understood exactly what she had found.
Kat worked hard to make those two dolls feel true to the girls they were for, and she has been glad to watch the range of skin tones, eye colors, and yarn shades in the Crochetree catalog keep growing since.
While she was working on them, Jane told her that her sister was going through another round of breast cancer. That is what convinced Kat to buy a Pearl Mermaid pattern and try it.
Three Months In, and a Mermaid
She had less than three months of crochet behind her. Pearl is not a beginner doll. She got through the pattern with ease.
There were two sticking points. The tail gave her trouble, and someone helped her through it over WhatsApp. Her hair modification needed work, and the group gave her suggestions that solved it. Pearl was roughly her eighth project and took her longer than anything she had made, but she finished.
Sue, the recipient, was thrilled with her. Both women were impressed by all three dolls, and especially by Pearl. Kat was surprised she had pulled it off at all, and she is clear about why she managed it: the pattern was written clearly enough to carry her through.
Modifying, Inventing, and Learning Online
Crochet has also become a real creative outlet for Kat. She frequently modifies patterns, and occasionally builds her own from techniques she has picked up along the way.
She credits the crochet groups she has joined, including Crochetree's, with most of her improvement. As she puts it, it is remarkable that you can learn an entire new skill completely online now, when she struggled to do exactly that just six years earlier, and back then she did not even have children in the house.
Her Crochet Buddy
Kat's middle child has appointed himself her assistant. He cuts the yarn when she is ready, and makes her extremely nervous with the scissors when she is not. He also loves to unroll her skeins, and then roll them back up.
Next on her list is a pair of dolls for her brother in law and his wife, who loves crafting. Bride Lila and Ethan the Groom, as a first anniversary present. She is excited about it, because she is so much better at crochet now than she was when she started.
Kat's Advice: Do Not Rush It
Asked what she would tell other crocheters, Kat had one thing to say, and she said it plainly.
Do not rush it. You do not need to be able to gift or sell your work immediately. You do not need to be good at it, or fast at it, right away. Do it for fun, as a creative outlet, to settle your anxiety, or as something to hold while you watch a child play soccer. If it turns out well, gift it.
She never puts herself on a deadline, because a deadline takes the fun out of it. She has no plans to sell, and people tell her she could all the time. She resists it on purpose. Plenty of us already stress ourselves out needlessly in life, and this is her joy. She gifts her dolls instead, which leaves enough room in the budget for more yarn.
Start Your Own Crochet Journey
Kat's story is proof that a failed first attempt is not a verdict. If you tried crochet once and it did not take, Crochetree's Crochet Basics Beginner Course teaches every fundamental stitch from scratch, at whatever pace suits you. And when you want to attempt something that feels slightly beyond you, the way Kat did, Pearl the Mermaid is waiting, or you can browse the full collection of doll patterns and find the character that pulls you in.
No deadlines, no pressure, one stitch at a time. You can craft this.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a beginner really make a detailed crochet doll after only a few months?
Yes. Kat had less than three months of crochet behind her when she made her first Pearl Mermaid doll, and she got through the pattern with ease. Detailed dolls look harder than they are. What matters most is a clearly written pattern that breaks every piece into small steps, plus somewhere to ask questions when you hit a tricky section.
Does crochet help with anxiety?
Many makers say it does. Kat's therapist specifically encouraged her to keep crocheting because it was one of the few things she was doing purely for herself. Crochet is portable, easy to pick up and put down, and the repetitive rhythm of the stitches is naturally calming.
How long does it take to crochet a doll?
It depends entirely on your pace and how much time you have. Kat, working around three young children, took roughly three months to finish a group of dolls including a Pearl Mermaid. Other makers finish a doll in a week. Neither is right or wrong. A doll is a project you pick up in the gaps of your day.
Do I need to sell my crochet for it to be worthwhile?
Not at all. Kat is regularly told she could sell her work and deliberately chooses not to, because turning her hobby into a job would take the joy out of it. She gifts her dolls instead, which keeps room in her budget for more yarn. Selling is wonderful for the makers who want it, but it is a choice, not a goal you owe anyone.
