Five Steps to Learn How to Crochet Online
To say that I was disappointed with the learning potential of the kit would be an understatement. The whole idea was that I needed something I could teach myself how to do without spending a lot of money – I’d already spent a lot of money, and still had very little idea what I was doing.
Since I practically live on the Internet, it seemed a logical (if late) place to turn. What I found – predictably – made me kick myself even harder. The fact is that you can find just about anything you want to know about by doing a simple online search. The problem is that there are so many resources it can be difficult weeding them out. If you think that something you’ve heard about might be an exciting hobby, chances are good that someone else has thought it would be long before you did, and has since dedicated a website to their passion.
After teaching myself to crochet, I decided to help others locally learn through several workshops that I taught at a crafts school. Using the Internet to find source material for teaching the steps has become second nature … here’s what you need to do in 5 easy – and free – steps.
One: Learn About and Find Crochet Supplies
Some of the best and most rewarding hobbies require a bare minimum of supplies, and crochet is definitely one of these. To learn how to crochet, you only need two things: a crochet needle, and yarn. Of course, the more you know about what the crochet supplies do and what they can create, the happier you’ll be with your purchases and your work. You’ll want to learn a little bit about the difference between crochet thread and yarn; one creates dainty work like doilies and the other creates larger pieces like afghans – and learn what sizes of needles are used for what type of work.
Generally speaking, you can narrow your search down by deciding what kind of pieces you want to learn how to crochet first – doilies and other dainty items, or larger items like afghans, scarves and sweaters. Which would I recommend learning first? Personally, I would suggest starting out with afghans that let you learn your stitches by performing the same basic series over and over. This lets you become acquainted with how tightly to work your crochet, how to hold the thread, and how different crochet stitches look in a finished piece. However, there are some people who would advocate starting out with crochet thread and doilies because these pieces take less time to see a finished result, and since most crochet beginners work their stitches too tightly it helps them loosen up when working on small pieces. So, in the end, it’s up to you and what you are driven to create.
Once you know what you want to create, you’ll want to purchase a set of needles suited to the type of work you’re planning on doing, and a ball or two of thread or yarn. You can begin by using the resources below, or hit a major search engine like Google and type in the phrase, “crochet needle set” or “crochet thread” or “crochet yarn”. Remember to use quotes in your search to narrow results down to those that best apply to what you’re looking for.
Learn and Find Crochet Supplies Resources:
Hook Size Calculator – If you’re having trouble finding a certain hook, make sure that it’s not because you’re reading it in a version that’s sized in English or Metric – and if you are, this will straighten you out about what you need to get: http://www.anniesattic.com/crochet/content.html?content_id=219
Yarns, Weights, and Needles – Scroll down to the gray content box about halfway down the page and you’ll get a full description of what yarns are good for what uses, and which needle sizes you will typically need to use with them. http://www.redmeadow.com/articles/weights.html
Maggie’s Crochet – You can find really fantastic yarns and threads on this site at http://www.maggiescrochet.com/pages/Supplies/yarn_page_1.htm and for all of your crochet needles and supplies, just go here http://www.maggiescrochet.com/pages/Supplies/supplies_page_1.htm
Two: Learn the Basic Stitches
The very first “stitch” that you need to learn in crochet is called a chain. The chain is what you will begin every single crochet project you ever do with. It’s also pretty quick and easy to learn, and you can use a fairly short length of yarn over and over until you learn how to get your chains evenly spaced. From the chain, you will want to learn how to do a single crochet, a double crochet, and a triple or treble crochet. After these basic stitches are second-nature (in other words, after you’ve done them so many times that you don’t have to read how to do them any more), you’ll want to follow up with a finishing stitch. Here’s some links to start with:
Learn Basic Crochet Stitches:
The Chain – An illustrated guide to creating a crochet chain. The pictures show you how to complete a chain stitch without any guesswork: http://crochet.about.com/library/bl_starting_chain.htm?once=true&
Single Crochet – Once you have the crochet chain figured out, single crochet stitches are easy. This illustrated guide will get you stitchin’ them in no time: http://crochet.about.com/library/bl_singlecrochet.htm?once=true&
Double Crochet – The double crochet is used often in crochet projects because it is still fairly “tight” but is twice the height of a single crochet stitch. What this means is you get further along in your project in a bit less time. This link will show you through illustration how to work double crochet stitches: http://www.crochet.com/lessons/lessonr/rstdc.html
Triple or Treble Crochet – Triple crochet, like single and double crochet, builds on a foundation chain as a base. However triple crochet has extra height because extra loops are worked off the hook. It is roughly 1 1/2 times taller than a single crochet stitch. Here’s your link for learning triple crochet stitches: http://www.crochet.com/lessons/lessonr/rsttr.html
Finishing Stitch – In patterns, you will see this written as “Fasten off” or “Finish off”. I can’t find any illustrated guides to creating a finishing stitch – but if you’ve done your work to this point, you won’t need illustrations. Once you complete your last stitch in a pattern (or a length of practice stitches), you will have one loop on your hook. Yarn over and draw the yarn through the loop and pull it tight. Now cut the yarn leaving about 2-5″ to be woven in.
Three: Learn Advanced Stitches
I placed this here because it follows most naturally on the heels of Basic Stitches, but you might decide to wait on learning advanced stitches until you need them for a specific pattern. Doing it this way, you’ll want to hit a search engine with the specific stitch you need and include in in quotes. Something like “illustrated picot crochet” would work well.
If you want to forge on ahead and try your hand at a few advanced stitches before you start working on a pattern, though, you will find these links invaluable:
Learn Advanced Crochet Stitches:
Crochet Basics – http://www.crochetnmore.com/123basics.htm
Learn Basic Crochet – http://www.angelfire.com/mo/creativeclutter/basiccrochet.html
Crochet Charts – http://www.crochetmemories.com/crochet3.php
Four: Learn to Read Crochet Patterns
There isn’t a lot to reading a crochet pattern once you’ve learned the basic stitches and their abbreviations. However, the first time that you take a look at a crochet pattern, it can be paralyzing. Depending on the project you decide to start with, the instructions can go on for several pages and everything starts to sort of blend together. So, take a breath and hit Annie’s Attic – http://www.anniesattic.com/crochet/learntoread.html – this page will guide you through the minor intricacies of reading a crochet pattern so that it makes sense. This page would be good to bookmark, too, just in case you hit a spot during one of your patterns where you don’t understand what’s going on.
Five: Locate and Use Free Crochet Patterns
You’ve come a long way and are ready to dig into creating a full project, right? Great! Before you head to the craft store and shell out money on crochet patterns that you might not like in the end, though, try your hand at any one of the following websites. You get full, quality crochet patterns that don’t cost a dime.
Crochet Pattern Central – http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/ – This directory contains thousands of links to free patterns in more than 90 categories including afghans, hats, doilies, and baby crochet.
Craft Town – http://www.craftown.com/crochet.htm – This page will lead you to free crochet patterns, lessons, resources, and tips.
Lion Brand Yarn – http://freecrochetpatterns.lionbrand.com/ – Created by the professionals at Lion Brand Yarn, these patterns are easy to understand and result in quality pieces.
