For todays #Blogtober post I am re-sharing an older post from the archives, prompted by a discussion that has been circulating on Twitter. A lady in her late 60s crocheted a blanket for a young man, only to be hurt when the gift was rejected.

There are many ‘hot takes’ on this and undoubtedly there are more gracious ways to deal with an unwanted gift but at the heart of this lies the central tenet that handcrafters tend to overemphasise the significance of handmade items, whereas for non crafters it tends to be the opposite and they underestimate their significance.

Anything handmade involves a significant investment of time and energy and it makes sense, upfront to determine what you are hoping to achieve with a handmade gift and to take the time to ensure that it is something the recipient will actually want and use.

The original post on this subject: If You Knit Something Set It Free was written in 2017 and apart from an outdated Ravelry reference it’s still just as relevant today as it was then.