Crochet

Learning to start making your own clothes in a fun way is one of the best things that you can do in your entire life. And the best thing about that is you can feel proud every time you see your friends or relatives wear your masterpiece.

So, really crocheting is more than just stitches and yarns. It is, basically, a wonderful activity that almost everybody would love to engage in. Who wouldn't, with all those “calming effects” and then the sense of fulfillment it can provide.

Contrary to popular belief, learning crochet is not that hard. In fact, in order to get you going, all you need is a good crochet hook, yarns, measuring tape, yarn needle, and some pins.

The Yarn

Once you have everything, the next thing you have to do is to learn how to hold the yarn. For people who are absolutely newbies when it comes to sewing in general, holding yarn could be tricky. Even if it only takes some time of getting used to, it is still important to know the proper way to hold it.

Here is how:

1. Hold the yarn in such a way that you can let it pass through your fingers. The sequence would be: little finger—beneath the ring finger—above the forefingers and the middle fingers.
2. You can also hold the yarn by looping the yarn in the region of the little finger, and allow it to cross the forefinger.
3. In holding the hook, it would be better to hold it the way you hold a spoon or a pencil. In this way, it would be easier for you to weave the yarn from your fingers down to your “loop in the hook.”

These are just the basics. One should always keep in mind that holding the yarn is actually a matter of preference. So it would be better to always try your preferred position until you feel comfortable doing it.

Identifying the Size of Hook and Yarns

One of the most important crochet lessons that you must learn is how to identify the right yarn and hook sizes. Keep in mind that the sizes, whether it is for the hook or the yarn, pertain to the breadth and depth of the item. For instance, the dimension of the hook is specified using different letters. It can also be some numbers, while there are cases where hook size may use both the numbers and the letters. In order for you to be able to identify which hook size is appropriate to use, always keep in mind that in crocheting, the higher the letter or number, it simply means that the hook size is getting thicker. On the other hand, the designation of the heaviness of the yarn is also the same as the thickness of the yarn. But unlike the hook size, the yarn size is indicated by a name.

Decreasing and Increasing

In learning to crochet, it is also important to learn how to decrease and increase the breadth and depth of the project or pattern. If you want to decrease the width a project, deduct some stitches. This can be done by skipping a stitch in a row, and then stitch into the next. On the other hand, in order to increase the thickness, all you have to do is to insert more stitches in a row. This can be done by joining two stitches of the same row together in order to come up with a solo stitch on the next row prior to it.

Pattern Reading

It is extremely important for a crochet maker to learn how to read the abbreviations in the pattern. This involves a little time because you have to memorize all of the terms and abbreviations in the pattern. Knowing them will simply facilitate your process and will make your work faster. It can be very time consuming if you keep on looking back at your book just to know the meaning of a certain abbreviation. The bottom line is that crochet lessons are significant things that every crochet maker should study. Incorporating them into your work would absolutely make your life making different crochets a lot better.