NPS Free Crochet Patterns

Did you know that www.nps.gov has free crochet patterns available on their website? I didn't know until about a year ago. Since I'm used to making my own things and not following a pattern when I crochet, I like to challenge myself every once in a while with an actual pattern.

When I first checked out the crochet patterns on the National Parks website, the one I wanted to make most was the walleye pattern. The shape of it made me think it would make a cool little accent pillow.

The website also has patterns for halibut, beaver, and even a saguaro cactus! Along with each (free!) pattern, the site includes fun facts for the real-life fish, mammal, or plant it is based on!

For this project, I used my usual 5 mm hook and regular acrylic yarn. On the website, it doesn't say what size yarn or hook to use, which I thought was fun because it doesn't pressure the pattern-follower to use one specific size. Since this was a "for fun" project, I just used some green yarn I needed to use up and some extra brown I had.

I actually started this project a few months ago, set it down, then picked it up again last month. That's the great thing about crochet, you don't have to finish it right away! But, I can also see where this could become a bad habit of leaving multiple projects unfinished. Lately I've been in a slump where I haven't felt like crocheting for a while, so I'm happy to be getting back into it.

I had a lot of fun following this pattern. It wasn't very time-consuming, the pattern was easy to follow, and I ended up with a cool crochet fish! If you're also in a crochet slump and looking for something fun to crochet, or if you just really like fish and wildlife, you should visit www.nps.gov and try one of their free patterns too!