Learning to crochet if you're shit at most things crafty

[EllaMinnowPee]

I've never crocheted a thing in my life. Probably never held a needle (hook?) either so we are talking complete beginner

Anyway I suddenly decided that I wanted to crochet a cure animal using one of the Toft kits or similar

Just how impossible a challenge will it be? Are these things generally tricky for absolute beginners?

Apparently I could do it as a child I appear to have lost the knack

@Theunamedcat actually I do have some sampler thing I did when I was about 5! It's a Christmas pudding. Some stitching on some bit of fabric with holes in it

Maybe I am a lost cause

yes its a crochet hook.

I'm pretty rubbish at most crafts but I can crochet, find it much easier than trying to use two needles

I've had a quick look at those kits, some look easy enough. I think you need to get a book or see if there is something on youtube for you to learn the basic stitches

I was thinking crochet might be fun to take up, aka help me put the phone down for a bit. Following to see if any tips come along for getting started.

Hi, I have tried knitting some many times, just can’t get it 😢🤔. However I discovered the knitting looms 😃. They are great I have made wool hats and now have an infinity loom to start knitting blankets and scarfs .

The videos on You tube are so helpful. Lucy Attic 24 is a site with clear pictures. That's how I learnt and books

I learned by starting with granny squares and following photo guides by the wonderful Attic24 (google her, she is a total crochet queen) and YouTube if I was stuck. I found it much easiest to pick up than knitting but know others who found the opposite.

I mention granny squares because you just crochet around and around - and never have to change direction. In my experience that's much easier for beginners than having to to turn at the end of a row (as you'd go with a blanket for example).

@woodhill

The videos on You tube are so helpful. Lucy Attic 24 is a site with clear pictures. That's how I learnt and books

Snap!

I think the Toft kits might be tricky for a complete novice - although the stitches themselves aren't too complicated, you need enough general experience to be able to see which sitch is which, and where to place the next stitch. It doesn't need loads of experience, just a bit more than starting from scratch.

Best bet would be to get some cheap wool and a hook from somewhere like Poundland, and watch a YouTube video in how to do a granny square. I've you're comfortable with that, try a couple of different stitches, and then you should be good to go.

It's a great hobby, and really not that hard, just takes a bit of practice to get confident!

Yes to starting with Attic 24! Bella Coco has a lot of good videos too.

Also when you get your wool and hook, pick up some stitch markers - or safety pins would do - that you can use to mark places you need to recognise later. When I started I found it really helpful to mark the corners of granny squares, for instance.

I had a Toft kit for Christmas. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend starting with it - there’s a lot of keeping count & fiddly bits, so I’d save it until you’ve had some practice.

I would definitely practise some basic crocheting before attempting an actual project, especially a toy - they are often more fiddly than a flat piece like a cushion cover or a blanket.

Crochet is definitely easier to get the hang of than knitting if you don't usually yake to these things easily! Maybe start with a few small squares - I'd recommend trying some granny squares (that spiral outwards from the centre) and some that go back and forth in rows. I found the latter a bit hard to get my head around at first!

Oh and feel free to come and join us on Knit, Crochet and Natter thread no.8 - total beginners very welcome!

Practice first - I took up crochet 5 years ago after many, many years of trying to learn to knit. I find it infinitely easier than knitting.

Start with a 4mm crochet hook, personally I like a soft handled one like Clover Amour but a simple metal or bamboo one will do the trick (not a plastic Pony one, they are awful).

Grab some yarn - you want DK weight (double knit) and I'd recommend cotton to start with as it's soft and doesn't tend to split so it's good for seeing the stitches clearly.

Bella Coco is good for video tutorials, she goes slowly and talks through every stitch. Start with her basic granny square. I found the squares in rounds (you start small and add 4 sides round and round until it's big enough) easier than the ones in rows (which are more like knitting, you start with one row of your final size and add more rows). But, like everything, it gets easier with practice.

Would a person need to go to a craft shop for these things? Poundland has been mentioned, I've never noticed crochet hooks and wool in there, but then I wasn't looking for them.

I'm great at craft stuff generally but crochet has reduced me to tears, I just can't do it. I can knit so whyyyyyyy.
I think you need someone to sit with you and show you. Learning from youtube videos and books doesn't really do the job.

I learnt following Jayda In Stitches videos. I find using the US terms so much easier and they just make more sense to me.

@Namechangeforthis88

Would a person need to go to a craft shop for these things? Poundland has been mentioned, I've never noticed crochet hooks and wool in there, but then I wasn't looking for them.

Hobbycraft and Wilko both stock them - enough for when you’re starting at least! I get most of my stuff from woolwarehouse.co.uk.

For a complete non crafter, I'd have a go at cross stitch instead!

I think the Toft kits might be tricky for a complete novice

I agree. Whilst some of them aren't difficult as such, you do need to know how to crochet to make them. Technically they are only one stitch type but they do have increases and decreases and then construction, plus some minor embroidery for eyes etc.

As PP have said, learn from places like Bella Coco and Attic 24 and try something flat and straight first.

Get a 4mm hook (or similar size), some dk yarn and look at The Crochet Crowd on YouTube or their website, really good videos showing the very basics and they have included videos for left handed crafters also. If your on Facebook you'll find lots of groups, some are a bit meh but others are really helpful. Be aware though, it can be addictive, I hate watching TV without my crochet now.

Hi, OP - I've taught myself the basics using Bella Coco videos, having completely failed using books/written instructions previously. I am also a failed knitter, so it's something of a miracle to have made it this far this time! I've got myself to the stage where I am tackling simple projects now. I'd really recommend Bella Coco.

I bought a basic set of hooks and some cheap yarn from Amazon. The hooks are fine, but the yarn wasn't great - that said, it was fine for practising basic techniques.

I taught myself following Bella Coco on YouTube. Started with granny squares about four years ago and now make blankets, baby clothes, bags, amigurumi...will give anything go really.

I've taught friends how to do it now also and have made a lot of things to gift.

I spent many a day so incredibly frustrated with it and some days and I can't get my head around a pattern but it just takes practice practice practice. I love it now, its my happy place.

I second Jayda in stitches on YouTube. If you search through her videos she does a little learn to crochet series where she shows you really slowly how to chain, single crochet, double crochet, half double etc. I did 30x30 squares of each one (as in 30 starting chains and then 30 rows, until I felt like I really had each one down. Then you can follow pretty much any of her tutorials.

4mm hook and DK cotton yarn on order from woolwarehouse. DH looks confused about the whole thing. I'll let you know how I get in. If it's a disaster I've only sunk about a tenner into it.

I took up crochet again recently having learned the basics about 40 years ago!
I love it. Because you are only dealing with one stitch on the hook it's easy to go back if you make a mistake.
I bought a book to start off with and I look for YouTube videos.
I started making baskets this weekend using thick t-shirt yarn. They are quick to make.