8 Things to Know When you Start Crocheting
I remember the day about 20 years ago when I asked my Grandma to teach me to crochet. We were heading out on a road trip to Florida with just me, my Mom and my Grandma. I had a crochet hook and a skein of yarn and a thousand miles of road ahead of us. Grandma patiently got me started on my first afghan and a hobby that I get to enjoy even now. If you are ready to learn to crochet, here are 8 things you need to know!
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8 Things to Know When you Start Crocheting
Learn from a Friend
The absolute best way for most people to learn a new hobby is to learn from a friend or family member. “Back in the day” it was a common thing to learn to crochet from older family members but this is a hobby that is not as popular as it used to be. Start looking around for someone who knows how to crochet and ask them to help you learn the stitches. I’ve never yet met someone who loves this hobby who doesn’t love to share their knowledge!
If you don’t have a friend or family member who loves to crochet, you can always go to youtube. Just do a quick search for ‘how to crochet’ and you will come up with dozens of videos of people who can show you how to get started!
Learn the Stitches but Don’t Stress
There are many stitches that expert crocheters understand and they are crucial to the process if you plan to create intricate designs. But when you are first learning, don’t stress over the lingo. You can always learn how to do double crochet decreases or treble crochets later on. To start with, just concentrate on learning a basic single or double. You can create many amazing afghans with just one single stitch!
Start Small
When you are first starting, you will need a lot of practice. The great thing about crocheting is that the craft is very forgiving. When I started relearning how to crochet last Fall, I literally crocheted the first rows multiple times. I would finish a couple of rows then unwind it all and start again.
It takes time to get your stitches even and counted correctly so don’t be afraid to unwind and retry. Grandma always told me that if I didn’t get it right, I would never be happy and she was right!
I started this afghan Thanksgiving weekend 2019 and couldn’t get the stitches right. I took it out and started over multiple times. Then after some help from family, I am now getting close to finishing up this afghan.
To do this afghan, I have been using a double crochet stitch with 10 stitches on each end | 7 stitches between each ripple and adding or skipping 3 for the peaks. At the rate I’m going, this afghan should be completed in just a few more weeks!
Buy Only What You Need
As with any hobby, you can easily spend way more money than you expect if you are not careful. To get started with crochet, you really only need two things: a crochet hook and a skein of yarn. You can buy a hook and a skein of yarn for less than $10.00 at your local craft store. Don’t get mesmerized by the varieties of yarn. When you are starting out, you just want a basic yarn type and a typical medium-size hook.
Rule of thumb: The bigger the crochet hook, the larger the loops will be in your afghan. I typically use a size H hook for a standard afghan.
Graduate to Patterns
Once you figure out the basic process, you will be ready to graduate to real patterns. There are many places to find crochet patterns. You can check them out of your local library, buy them on Amazon or pick them up at your favorite craft store.
If you go to Michaels or Hobby Lobby, don’t forget to get the coupon on your phone! Just download their app or go to their website and show the coupon to the cashier!
Michaels Coupon | Hobby Lobby Coupon
Find Free Patterns
Get Rebates on Crochet Supplies
If you buy supplies online, make sure you get rebates for all your purchases. You can start your shopping at Mr Rebates or Ebates and earn % back for each online purchase. Read here for more details.
Swap or “Gift” Yarn
When you finish a project and have leftover yarn, consider swapping your leftover yarn with someone else. When I started to learn how to crochet, I inherited a box of yarn balls of all different colors. Since I love to work with many colors, I was able to make a pastel baby afghan –and it didn’t even cost me a dime!
What about you? How do you find supplies for your crochet hobby? Do you have a project you’re working on now? I’d love to see it! You can email them to me or share pictures of your crochet crafts and creations on the facebook page!
I love the color scheme of your afghan. It is beautiful. I love to crochet too! My Grandma taught me how as well. When you were talking about the basic stitches it reminded me that the basics were all I used for a long time. I have learned some new and beautiful stitches and techniques in the last few years. Thanks for your post and pictures. I wish I had a picture of me and my grandma crocheting!
Isn’t it special to share the memories and stitches with Grandma(s)? I’m so glad you had this kind of experience too!