Let's suppose you want to do a mystery project on your own time. Sometimes this can work with the ones you see online. Sometimes it doesn't. How can you set up your own?
1. Choose if you want to knit or crochet the project.
2. Choose what you want your finished object to be. Blanket? Shawl? Scarf? Sweater? Something else?
3. Pick the website, book, or a Pinterest search that has a variety of different stitch patterns for you to choose from.
A. write out twice as many stitch pattern names as you will need for the finished object on slips of paper
B. Find a receptacle to put them in with the source nearby.
C. Determine how long the stitch patterns will be done.
4. Determine how often you will be doing the mystery project, once a week, once a month, something else?
5. Gather your yarn and tools to be placed with the stitch patterns.
Now it's time to start. Pick a slip. Look up the stitch on the slip and create your first stitch pattern.
This can be fun. If your stitch counts change from one to another stitch pattern, consider having a section of resting stitches where you increase or decrease from one count to the next. It also puts a visual break from one type of stitch pattern to the next.
You can add to the mystery of the finished item by having a variety of fibers and colors and grab a new one each time you work on this project.