Al could not, for the life of him, follow my crochet instructions by hand. I wished I had a loom to teach him on; it would make my job a hundred times easier. Because there was no way I could accomplish all of this by myself.
Then it hit me. I may not have access to the plastic looms they sell in the craft aisle of chain stores but hadn't the original looms been made out of wood?
There was a small fleet of carpenters who worked in the castle. I found one of them and showed them a drawing of what I needed. It only took him two days to do it. He did such a good job that I had him make one for me as well.
Just because I knew how to crochet with my fingers doesn't mean it was the most effective way to do things. With a loom I could make an adult-sized hat in an hour.