How easy is it to learn to crochet?

[Happyclappy20]

I'd love to learn but would be a complete beginner - where do I start and how long does it take to be proficient enough to make dolls etc...?

I would say that it is actually relatively easy. I taught myself the basics using YouTube, making a very simple granny square. I moved into using a Paton's learn to Crochet book where I made a blanket, scarf and beanie, followed by a more complex book used for baby clothes.

It took me a year to get from basic to a baby jacket! I used YouTube a lot to begin with, even with the patterns, to get the basics. You have to be careful as American patterns/stitches are a bit different.

I'm not brilliant yet, but with practice I'm getting there!

I commented but it's gone so apologies if this double posts.

I learned to crochet last year using Bella Coco tutorials on YouTube, I started with granny squares, scarves then hats and am now in the process of making a single bed sized blanket and a small lap blanket.

Its easy enough to learn I think given a bit of time and patience. I started with 100% acrylic yarn as it's easier to use at first.

Blanket so far!

Easy. I also learned from Bella Coco YouTube tutorials and I've been steadily making since then.

I'm another who learnt from Bella Coco, she explains things very well and she's English so uses the terms that we use in our patterns. Her tutorials are brilliant as she tells you when to pause the video so that you can have a go at your own speed.

The hardest part is learning to hold the hook and wool. I would look at the tutorials but don’t go onto the first row.

Start making the chain and just keep on going. When you get fed up compare the beginning of the chain with the end. Most likely the start will be big and small stitches, tight and lose ones. By the end of the chain you should have nice even stitches where your technique and speed increased.Then undo the chain and start again. When you are really confident on the foundation chain, you will have found the most convenient way to hold the hook and wool over your fingers.

I have taught a lot of crochet and everyone has a slightly different way of handling the hook and the yarn. The hardest people to teach are those who are excellent knitters.

I picked it up quickly with the help of Bella Coco on youtube. Started with granny squares then watched other YouTube videos that show the written pattern as they crochet and now I can follow patterns without videos. I just made my sis two Star Wars dolls.

My advice would be, be patient, if you need to start again just unravel it and try again and google any stitches you’re new to or forget.

Ha I literally came on here to start this exact thread! Expecting DC1 in October and while I'm a fairly proficient cross-stitcher I wanted to be able to make stuff for Bean and I've been taught and forgotten how to knit so many times and crochet seems like it might be a bit simpler?

Try lots of different ways, it is not essential to have the yarn wound round the fingers of your non- dominant hand. You can hold the yarn in the same hand as your hook and 'throw the yarn' very common in knitters. It is entirely possible to have good speed and tension with this technique.

I picked it up straight away but I know others who have struggled. Once you get the hang of a single stitch it gets a lot easier. Also don't be discouraged if you make mistakes or if your tension is out, practice makes perfect .

I personally found it easier to start by making toys (amigurumi) as you and just crochet round in a circle, usually using the same stitch and only worrying about increasing and decreasing.

Good luck with it! I love to crochet and am always amazed by the things I create

I totally struggled with crochet, I just cant do it (although I might try again with bella coco based on these comments). I did get knitting very very quickly though.

I don’t really have a dominant hand- I write with my left hand, a lot of other stuff I do with my right, and for the majority of tasks I can switch from one to the other.

I’ve been using the BC videos as a guide and while I can follow the stitches easily enough I just can’t do it with her technique. I hold the hook knife-style in my right hand and physically hoo the yarn over it with my left. Takes longer and makes my hands ache but the end result looks pretty much the same!

ive been trying for 40 odd years i find using knitting needles harder now so to crochet would be brilliant all i want to do is make granny square blankets i have watched you tube videos and bought just about every book going but still cant do it

I agree with getting a hook and some cheap yarn and just making metres of chain to start with. Whenever I've tried to teach someone to crochet, the tricky bit is holding the hook and the yarn, practicing with making chain helps it become a reflex action that you can do without thinking about.
I would then move on to making a granny square, which you can make into a blanket. When I first learnt, I found granny squares easier than working in rows, with a granny square there is an obvious space for your next stitch to go into, whereas with rows its a bit more tricky to keep count and the piece can grow into weird shapes if you miss or add on stitches (or maybe that was just me!!)

I self taught a few years ago and I'm pretty flipping good at amigurumi now (used to make it to sell until last year). Basically 99% of making toys is just going round and round in circles of double crochet (called single crochet in American patterns - just as a heads up) and keeping count (I use a knitting row counter tied onto a stitch marker that I move up at the end of every round). Once you can increase and decrease with that stitch you're away really.

If you don’t like Youtube, your library should have some helpful books in the children’s section that make it easy to pick up. As pp said, you don’t have to hold the wool in the ‘right’ way. Just see what works for you.

I learnt a few years ago. I found that a good book was a great help, but it was when I did a short course at a wool shop that I really understood what I was supposed to be doing, & I'd recommend at least finding someone else who crochets so you can ask questions.

We were told to start with a 6 and a half mm hook & plain/pale-coloured chunky yarn, as that makes the stitches easier to see for a beginner.

I found stitch patterns where you crochet into spaces easier than ones where you go into previous stitches, so the granny square is great. My granny sq's tend to start rotating, though - I found this can be fixed by turning for each row instead of staying on the same side. It gives a slightly different look but solves the problem.

The thing to do is buy some cheap yarn & practise, practise, practise. You'll find your work will get more even & more automatic, & you'll start to see when you've gone wrong & know how to put it right. Make swatches at first, rather than projects.

Once you've picked up the basics, you'll know what you want to try next. I still haven't done shaped clothes & toys; I've stuck with flat things but have got experimental with stitch patterns & different types of yarn. Everyone's different. I've even started inventing my own patterns.

Beware of fluffy yarns, as they're horrible/impossible to unpick.

I, too, found Bella Coco very good: I followed her video for the Virus Shawl & it was spot on.

Ravelry.com is great for many things: free & pay designs, yarn info & a very helpful forum.

Pinterest is useful for seeing what other people have made from yarns I've been thinking of using, & for links to stitch patterns.

It's all about learning. Some things which seemed impossible at first have resolved themselves, e.g. I couldn't understand crochet charts but now dislike designs which don't give them. And patterns which seem difficult can suddenly imprint themselves in your brain & you're crocheting away without looking at the instructions.

Enjoy your crochet!

I taught myself to crochet from a Ladybird book about 40 years ago - crochet is much easier for a beginner than knitting I reckon, as you're only working with one stitch at a time, whereas with knitting you have all the other stitches you need to not drop .

Interesting about knitters not finding crochet easy to pick up - both my mum and granny were avid knitters, and neither could get their heads round crochet, which is why I taught myself.

I can crochet but I can’t knit to save my life.

Very easy! I taught myself with YouTube tutorials!

@MyVisionsComeFromSoup I had the ladybird knitting book. I spent a lot of time making egg cosies and ties.

I learned to crochet before I learned to knit. I prefer crochet for speed but love knitting for baby garments.

@Happyclappy20 I would also recommend you asking at your local yarn shop to see if they have a drop-in crochet group to go along to. You may find someone there happy to show you the basics - I know I would.

If you find traditional thin crochet hooks uncomfortable, there are lots of great hooks with thicker, rubbery handles. They come individually or in sets of different sizes.

I have to say I found it very, very hard. But I've been knitting all my life, and I'm left handed which is tricky with the online stuff as most of it is filmed for right handers. I keep meaning to have another go but there are so many knitting techniques I want to try first...