Crocheting the Final Frontier: A Star Trek Enterprise Christmas Gift

There are custom orders where I can immediately picture how I am going to construct them.

Then there are orders that make me stare at the inspiration picture for a minute and start mentally taking it apart.

And then there are orders in which I turn to other crocheters to see if they have designed one before.

The Enterprise was definitely one of those.

A starship isn't exactly designed with crochet construction in mind.

There were different shapes, angles, sections, and proportions to consider—and they all needed to come together in a way that made the finished piece instantly recognizable.

I began looking at a pattern I found online by Andrea Bruce so that I could begin breaking the ship down into individual crochet-friendly shapes and adjust her ideas into the size I needed for this project.

Instead of looking at the entire Enterprise and wondering how I was going to crochet a spaceship, I could focus on one section at a time.

One piece.

One shape.

One stitch.

As each section came off my hook, the real fun began.

Assembly.

This was where all of those individual crocheted shapes had to become a starship.

Even the way each section was stuffed and attached could change the overall silhouette.

I spent time positioning and adjusting pieces, checking the shape, and making sure everything worked together before securing it into place.

Slowly, what had been a collection of crocheted pieces on my workspace started looking unmistakably familiar.

The Enterprise was taking shape.

What I loved most about this order was the thought behind it.

My customer wasn't simply looking for another Christmas present to wrap and put under the tree.

She knew something her brother-in-law loved and chose to have it recreated especially for him.

That is one of the things I think makes custom gifts so much fun.

They say:

I know what you love.

I thought about you.

And this was made specifically with you in mind.

For a Star Trek fan, finding a handmade Enterprise waiting under the Christmas tree is certainly a little different from another pair of socks.

This project was another reminder of why I enjoy custom crochet so much.

Not every idea begins with a crochet pattern.

Sometimes it begins with a photograph.

A favorite show.

A character.

A memory.

Or, apparently, an entire starship.

Then comes my favorite question:

How can I make that out of yarn?

The answer usually involves a little experimenting, plenty of problem-solving, and occasionally wondering what I have gotten myself into.

But eventually, all of those stitches come together.

And this time, they became the Enterprise—ready to head off on its next mission as one very unique Christmas gift.

If you could turn someone's favorite movie, television show, character, hobby, or completely unexpected obsession into a handmade Christmas gift, what would it be?

Because when it comes to custom crochet, sometimes the best ideas are the ones that make me say:

“Okay... now how am I going to crochet THAT?”