The Do's and Don't's of Learning How to Crochet
by Lisa
(www.uniquehomemadegifts.com)
Learning how to crochet really is simple. The hardest part about it is trying not to get carried away. There are so many awesome patterns and beautiful, fun yarns out there. It can be very difficult to choose your first project. But your choice of yarn and/or pattern can make a HUGE difference in whether or not you enjoy crochet, or if it just makes you swear.
Your personality is a good deciding factor, too. Only you can know how you react to challenging situations. I tend to get irritated if I know I can do something, but it turns out to be more difficult than I thought. Depending on the difficulty and frustration level, I may not finish it. For me, crocheting is supposed to be fun and relaxing. If all I’m doing is swearing at my yarn, hook and pattern, I’m not getting much relaxing out of the deal.
Also, I like to crochet, not sew. I tend to give up on granny square patterns after the crocheting is done. I have bags of squares just waiting to be sewn together! That’s something I didn’t take into consideration when I started those projects. Now, I tend to steer away from any patterns that require me to sew a bunch of pieces together. I know that all those pieces will more than likely just end up in a bag until I feel more like “sewing”. (Which hasn’t happened yet!) Decide whether large amounts of tedious sewing is something you would enjoy, or if you would rather only crochet. This will also help narrow your pattern selection.
Make sure to choose a simple worsted weight yarn to start with. I know all the fuzzy and fancy yarns out there are much more appealing, but they are also much harder to work with. When you are first learning how to crochet, you will need to be able to see how your stitches are working together. You need to see how each stitch sits, how they connect with each other, and you need to be able to count your rows and stitches. Simple worsted weight or sport weight yarns make that very easy to see, where yarns with lots of fuzz or uneven sections can make it more difficult.
One of the biggest, and most frustrating, challenges for those new to crochet is being able to determine where your stitches are supposed to start and end. Dropping the last stitch in each row is probably the most common mistake made. In the beginning, you may have to count each of your stitches so that you are sure you’re getting them all in. Doing that will help you see where your first and last stitches need to go. It’s really frustrating to think you’re crocheting a square, or a rectangle, only to find out that it’s beginning to look more like a demented triangle!
Lighter colored yarns are also much easier to work with than the darker ones. This is something a lot of people don’t think of. Most people will crochet while they are relaxing after work in front of the TV. I don’t know about you, but the lighting in my house at night leaves something to be desired. (Especially in the room with the TV.) Not being able to clearly see where your stitches are supposed to go can lead to skipped, or missed stitches. Unfortunately, a lot of skipped stitches aren’t discovered for many rows. Since stitch count can be very important to the pattern, your only resolve is to pull out everything all the way back to the missed stitch. You can put hours and hours of work into a project, only to have to pull it all out because you skipped a stitch 4 rows down. What a pain!
I recommend you choose a fairly simple crochet pattern to start with. That doesn’t mean that it has to be a boring pattern. Some of the cutest things I’ve made have been created with super simple stitches. What I mean by simple is, a pattern with only 1 or 2 different stitches. That way, once you learn those few new stitches, you’ll already have the pattern down. A stitch as simple as the double crochet can have many different looks just by where you attach it to the row below. It’s the same stitch, but lays completely different if you crochet into both loops vs. into the back loop only. If you have to learn a new stitch every row, or in every section of your project, you may get frustrated and want to quit.
When I decided to re-teach myself how to crochet, the very first crochet pattern I chose had numerous different stitches. They were all stitches I had never done before. I was able to fumble my way through the pattern using the stitch guides, and ended up with a pretty good looking blanket. I did do quite a bit of swearing in the beginning, and unraveled at least as much as I crocheted. It was rewarding to see the pattern taking shape, and to know that I had done it myself, but if I had to do it all over again, I definitely would have chosen a much more simple pattern to start with.
Understanding what you do and do not like is key when you are learning how to crochet. Creating things that you love, and will use, is very important. Sometimes that takes a little trial and error. Not all people are going to love the continuous crocheting. Some will want to break it up with sewing. You may be the type of person who loves making clothing rather than blankets or table cloths.
There’s all the different sizes of yarns, fibers and hooks to choose from, as well. You may find you love working with the smaller hooks and using thread or wire instead of the big bulky yarns and the larger over-sized hooks. If you’re not sure what type or style of crochet you like, try out a few different things. If you don’t like them, move on. Let yourself have a few UFOs (Unfinished Objects), if that’s what it’s going to take to discover what kind of crochet it is you truly love. Most of all ... relax, have fun, and enjoy your creative process!
