Learning to Crochet Tips

What Kind of Learner are You?

Introduction
You have decided you are ready to learn how to crochet. The items you have seen are things of beauty, and you would like to learn to create your own, either to give as gifts or for your own use and enjoyment.

It is not just a matter of sitting down, gripping the crochet hook and yarn, then instantly learning how to move the hook, how many loops to create and how to move to the next step. You learn based on one of three learning styles. You need to know your own innate learning style so you can tailor your crochet lessons to that style.

Kinesthetic
This means that you learn, using a hands-on style. You need to pick up the hook and yarn and try the different stitches out as you learn them. Your learning style is best suited to sitting down with an experienced crocheter and mimicking her movements.

Here are two recommendations: If you are right-handed, sit next to your instructor and mimic her movements as she makes them. If you are left-handed, sit immediately in front of her, hold your hook in your left hand, yarn in your right and mimic her movements as if you were looking into a mirror. Your left hand will be on your instructor’s right-hand side. Regardless of your handedness, keep working with your instructor until you are comfortable with the stitch movements for each stitch.

Visual
You learn best by creating images in your mind. You have probably always thought pictorially. For this reason, looking at drawings of different stitches will be your most effective learning aid.

Look for crochet instruction books, either at the library or bookstore. Leaf through the pages, looking for pictures of each crochet stitch. The best books will have pictures that take you through each step of the stitch – for instance, a step one, step two and step three.

Schematic graphs are also a good tool for you as a visual learner. Crochet has developed a symbol for each stitch, going from the chain stitch up through the longest stitch. Crochet pattern manufacturers compose schematics, using these symbols, which helps you visual learners to see how the design should look.

Auditory
You learn best by listening to instructions. It is easy for you to explain things to someone else, so you are able to understand the instructions given by an instructor. You might learn to crochet most effectively by sitting with an experienced crocheter and listening to what she has to say.

As she shows you how to make a slip knot, she will also tell you how to make a loop in the yarn to slip your hook through. She should do the same with each crochet stitch she shows you. As she demonstrates it physically, she should verbally explain each step.

As with the other learning styles, plan to sit with your instructor until you are comfortable with the process of crocheting, and with crocheting each stitch.

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Left Handed Crochet

Lefties tend to get neglected, but not here! There are clearly written instructions for left handed crochet on Craftbits' website at this link http://www.craftbits.com/viewProject.do?projectID=1324 as well as videos available on YouTube demonstrating left handed crochet.

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A Bird in the Hand...

This tip is great for golfers too! Whether you choose to hold your hook like a pencil or a knife, you should hold it as though it were a bird -- tightly enough that it won't fly away, but loosely enough that you won't kill it! Getting just the right grip on your hook is important for maintaining the uniformity of your stitches as well as the health of your hands, fingers, and wrists.

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Hard and Easy

I've always said that learning how to knit is easy but actually knitting something is hard. Well, with crochet, the opposite seems to be true: it seems very challenging to learn how to crochet, but once you learn the basic stitches, you can make just about anything! Just keep reading the crochet tips here at Lifetips, and you will be a true crocheter before you know it.

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Skill Levels

Crochet patterns often come with some indication of the crochet skill level you should have to be able to tackle the project. Don't feel bound by these statements, just take them to be guidelines for helping you assess what's involved in creating the item and if it's a pattern that you want to try:

Beginner: this is a pattern that is intended for first-time crocheters, utilizes basic stitches, and involves minimal shaping.

Easy: this is a pattern that uses basic stitches, simple repetitive stitch patterns and/or color changes, and simple shaping and finishing.

Intermediate: this is a pattern that uses a variety of crochet stitches in varying patterns and has mid-level shaping and finishing.

Advanced or Experienced: this is a pattern that uses advanced crochet techniques and stitches in intricate patterns and involves detailed shaping and finishing.

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No Throwing!

A lot of knitters who want to learn how to crochet are tempted to "throw" the yarn as if they are knitting. Please try to not give into that temptation. In the long run, it will slow you down and adversely affect your stitch consistency and tension. In crochet, you really need to hold the hook in one hand and the yarn in the other. Experiment with ways to hold the yarn so that it feeds out at a steady tension and allows you to use your other hand just for hooking.

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