There are a fair few ways to learn to crochet, so as a beginner or someone who wants to learn, where do you even begin?
There are 5 main ways to learn to crochet.
Get your mum/ friend/ aunty/grandma to show you how
Go to a group
Buy a book
Learn from youtube.
Take a class.
So let’s take a look at the methods and various pros and cons.
As you may or may not know, I learnt via the first option, in my friends flat, with the determination to make a baby blanket. I did try to learn via the internet, then through a book but what I needed was to sit down and have someone to show me. My friend showed me the basics but my first square was infact round and I definitely needed to polish my technique. See for yourself…
Learning from a family member traditionally was how these skills were passed down generations, nowadays, needlepoint and certainly crochet isn’t something everyone knows how to do, so what do you do if you simply have no one to show you?
You could go to a group.
The great thing about going to a group is getting out of the house and meeting new people. However I know that going to a group not even having a clue how to do the thing you are there to do is a little daunting. It’s like going to a laned swimming session, not even being able to swim. Look for a group that welcomes beginners, and let them know ahead of time you are going so they can be prepared to sit down and teach you, quite often at groups people are working on their own projects, catching up with friends etc and may not have the time to teach a beginner. You could try to prepare ahead of time by…
Learning from the internet or buying a book.
Firstly, get up, get out, go meet some crafters! Seriously though, these are great cheap ways to learn, but some videos on you tube make me cringe, I’m not a crochet snob, but if you’re going to teach someone…. Teach them the right way! No knotting yarn! You learn other people’s bad habits when it comes to technique. While you tube is a valuable resource when learning new stitches, (once you know the basics) when you try to transfer those skills to a pattern in a magazine you might find crochet suddenly very tricky.
Blogs with tutorials are a great way to expand your skills, they take you step by step through the process and also help you with breaking a pattern into small manageable chunks, a great way to begin to read patterns. For learning and a true beginner though, you are still sat staring at a computer screen none the wiser.
Books are fabulous as a reference guide, but many people will tell you it is a very hard to learn from a book, they show you step one and two, but not really how to move from one step to the next. It makes the whole learning process quite slow, and in this fast pace world we live in, who has the time or patience really? So I repeat, Get up, get out, go meet some crafters! You can do this by….
Taking a class
So, taking a class, you not only have the benefit of getting out and meeting people, but you are going to learn by someone showing you in a comfortable environment. It’s usually a class of a few people and therfore less distraction as you are all concentrating hard on the task in hand. Everyone else there, apart from the teacher, is a beginner, so it’s not so daunting. The teacher isn’t there to get on with their projects, or catch up with friends, they are there to help you to learn to crochet, the expectations of everyone is clear, you are there to learn, they are there to teach. It’s a perfect learning scenario. Look for a good value class, one with good reviews, and comes with materials. A good place to find a teacher is
http://www.craftcourses.com . The only downside is you pay for a class, but you’re getting value for money, and you’re learning the right way from the start. You get what you pay for.
How did you learn? Tell me your crochet journey…
Benny Rens 