3rd Annual Pink Sheep Design #DIYHOOKCHALLENGE

The 2023 DIY Hook Challenge has come to a close BUT we look forward to bringing the DIY Hook Challenge BACK in 2024! Scroll down to watch the 2023 Closing Ceremony, see all of the AMAZING entires and learn more about The DIY Hook Challenge and how it started!

Stay up to date and be the first to know about future challenges by following us on instagram (or YouTube if you don’t have an Instagram account!), joining the Pink Sheep Facebook group, or just bookmarking this page!!!

What IS the DIY Hook Challenge??

My husband (aka Captain Hook!) and I wanted to find a way to foster creativity within the crochet community and challenge our followers to push their creativity in NEW ways!

Every year, starting in May, we 3D print plain white crochet hooks for challenge participants to decorate and then enter their finished creations for the chance to win prizes! Last year we had over 50 final entries and even added a kids category to help encourage family involvement. We know that your kids or partner may not share your interest in crochet but decorating a hook is something anyone in the family can get involved in!

2023 DIY Hook Challenge – CLOSING CEREMONY!!!

2023 DIY Hook Challenge – Functional Category Entries!!!

2023 DIY Hook Challenge – Non Functional Category Entries!!!

2023 DIY Hook Challenge – Kids Category Entries!!!

2023 Challenge Dates & Deadlines

May 1, 2023 – Official Announcement of this year’s challenge & Pre-orders open for DIY hooks! All you have to do to enter the challenge is purchase one of our white 3D printed crochet hooks and decorate it any way you’d like! Despite inflation, we were able to keep the cost of our DIY Hooks at $15/hook (plus shipping. This year our hooks will be sold UNSANDED but you can still opt to have your hook pre-sanded for an additional $5.00!
May 30, 2023 – Last day to order your DIY challenge hook!
June 1, 2023 – ALL hooks will be shipped out to you no later than this date. The sooner you order your hook, the sooner it will be mailed out to you. We will mail hooks out as orders are received!
June 30, 2023 – Deadline to submit photos of finished hooks for entry to win prizes! I will provide a link to a Google Form to submit your entry/entires. You will be able to submit both photos and a video of your hook entry. You will also be able to share information on your creative process, the story behind your hook, and any details you think would help us when it comes time to judge the hooks!
July 15, 2023 – CLOSING CEREMONY! Winners will be announced!! This year we will have THREE categories (and THREE grand prizes!!)

What can I use to Decorate My Hook?

From sharpie markers, acrylic paint, watercolors, and paint pens to decoupage, clay sculpture and hydro dipping–even shibori dyeing, we have seen some incredible hooks as a part of this challenge and ANYTHING goes! We just want you to have fun!!! You can find some inspiration & get some ideas here on our Amazon List for the DIY Hook Challenge!

Can I buy more than one hook?

Of course! Many of our past challenge participants have chosen to buy multiple hooks so that they can try out different decorating techniques and ideas!

Can I submit more than one entry?

Yes! At this time we are still allowing multiple entries for a single person. So, if you decorate more than one hook and want to submit more than one to be judged you can!

Can My Kids Participate?

YES! We LOVE to see kids participating in the DIY Hook challenge (and no, they do NOT have to know how to crochet!) You can purchase a hook for your kids, your partner or a family member to decorate! We even have a Kids Category so that they can submit their hook for the chance to win a prize as well! *Kids 15 years of age and younger can choose to submit their hooks to the kid’s category!

Should I pay to have my hook pre-sanded?

When our hooks come off of the 3D printer, they can have some rough edges, especially around the actual hook section of the crochet hook and need to be sanded down. If you are planning to USE your hook after you decorate it and don’t feel comfortable sanding it yourself, it is definitely worth paying to have it pre-sanded!

What should I use to sand my hook myself?

You will want to use wet sandpaper and water to sand your hook. You can find wet/dry sandpaper here on our Amazon List for the DIY Hook Challenge!

Can I choose the Crochet Hook Size?

We choose the official crochet hook size for the challenge each year. For the 2023 Challenge we have chosen to go with a 20mm hook! The larger the hook, the more surface area you have to work with to decorate so we have found the larger sizes are more fun to use for the challenge!

How much does it cost to enter the Challenge?

DIY Hooks cost $15.00 plus shipping. This is the only cost to participants to enter unless you opt to pay extra for us to resin coat your final hook! In this case you would pay an extra fee and would have to cover the cost to ship the hook back to us so that we can seal and coat it! This year our hooks will be sold UNSANDED but you can still opt to have your hook pre-sanded for an additional $5.00!

2023 DIY Hook Challenge Updates!!!

Categories for the 2023 DIY Hook Challenge:

Functional Hooks: Hooks that can still be used to crochet after being decorated. This could include hooks decorated using paints, sharpies, nail polish, acrylic, resin, mod podge, etc!

Non-Functional Hooks: If you are looking to turn your crochet hook into a work of art that you can display versus crochet with, this is the category for you! This category is for hooks that cannot be used to crochet after being decorated. This could mean you made a sculpture out of your hook (like last years winner, who turned her hook into a yarn hoarding dragon!), or adding/gluing things to your hook that would cause it to be unusable as a crochet hook once you are finished!

Kid’s Hooks: We absolutely LOVED the fact that so many people got their kids involved last year that we felt they needed their own category and a special grand prize! Kids 15 years of age and younger can choose to submit their hooks to the kid’s category!

Prizes for the 2023 DIY Hook Challenge:

Thanks to our AMAZING sponsors, we will have pretty fantastic grand prizes this year! We will have a grand prize winner for each of the three categories listed above! The grand prize winners from the two adult categories will receive:

• A Pink Sheep crochet PRIZE PACK that will include THREE custom
crochet hooks of their choice along with some 3D printed tools, swag and
goodies from our shop! (valued at $200)
• A Project Bag from MUUD (valued at $165)
• Their choice of either a Maker’s Tote or Maker’s Backpack from Della Q (valued at $130)
• A gift pack from Universal Yarn
• A $75 gift card to Premier Yarns
• A Lumos Lumos Knitting Light (valued at $49.95)

We will also have a grand prize winner from our kids category who will win a Creativity Gift Pack with craft supplies and goodies to keep their creative juices flowing!