Many people grow up in households where hand crafting items is a family affair, but some of them will want to learn more advanced ways to create items. For those interested in crocheting, they might learn as a child how to do simple granny square afghans. They might want to learn how to create more complex items, but their family might not have that knowledge to pass on to them. To advance, they must seek other resources to create what they can imagine on their own.
Friends are often a great resource when it comes to learning more, and some people have found that learning taking advanced hand crafting classes with friends is a great way to enjoy friendship and study. There are those who attend a few classes and make new friends, so there are many different benefits to be gained from this type of learning. Even those who do not find lifelong friends will find they have something to share with others.
Formalized schooling for many crafts is not generally available, but classes can be found in many small specialty shops. Those who work with yarn will find that many fabric stores offer classes for those who want to learn how to knit or crochet in new ways. Many of them teach students how to read and choose patterns so they can advance at their own pace, and some of them teach through projects that will highlight a specific way of creating within the craft.
There are many different ways to learn how to do better in crafts that have been handed down through the generations, and it is an investment in future giving that is the payoff of learning more. Books, videos and classes are worth the effort for those who want to break out of their original crafting mode and learn new ways to practice traditional crafts.