Crafts Focus – Crochet

So, who has done crochet before? I have always loved looking at crochet, but having not yet worked out how to follow a knitting pattern I didn't think it was something I could do.

However, I do have some crochet hooks so decided it was about time I found out what all the fuss was about.

I was given a beautiful crocheted square and a strawberry and some other lovely bits by Gertie Lee (http://gertieleigh.blogspot.co.uk/) as part of the Popular Crafts Magazine "Strawberry Craft Swap" this month so thought I really should have a go. Isn't this great!



So ... where did I start?

Well, you can get all sorts of beautiful things to do crochet with, but I thought I would start with some normal knitting wool as I had some around the house.



There's some great instructions here: http://learntocrochet.lionbrand.com/ - not only a video, but actual step by step too and you can download the whole lot as a pdf if you want it on your ebook reader or ipad!

So, I had a look at those and decided to have a try. How hard could it be?

Well … here’s my first attempts.



I hadn’t worked out how to hold the hook properly and found that my fingers were getting so tense I could barely hold it! I also hadn’t quite worked out how much of the stitch to crochet, or that I needed to loop both behind AND in front of the stitch for a “single crochet”. Yeah, instructions … reading them would be good! I had a bit of a fiddle about with different sizes of crochet hooks and ended up with a size 4.5 (I think size 4 is recommended for this type of wool, having done some more reading later!)

So, I managed to do a few red pieces but they kept getting smaller … I was trying to make a coaster but it really wasn’t happening …

Having nearly thrown the ball across the room several times I decided to go on to a more restful colour and started work on a bookmark in green wool instead. I thought the shorter rows would make it easier. This went a bit better but still wasn’t right.



I had been looking at some tutorials on Youtube. However, the ones I looked at were right handed, and I’m left handed … so after I finished the bookmark I decided to see If I could do it the other way round, and I also wanted to make something 3D as I was getting frustrated by flat things not staying flat!

This is the video that saved my sanity!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yP7MH3dAsA&feature=channel&list=UL

She’s great! The instructions are clear and, even more impressively, she produces these videos in both left and right handed versions!

So here I have my first successful piece! I’m so happy!



This way of working is much more comfortable, and I made this lovely stuffed heart this morning so it’s a lot quicker than the 2 days it took me to do the bookmark!

I made myself a coaster next. I added a very dodgy frill round the edge and it's not quite square (I forgot about the extra stitches you need at the end of the rows!) but I'm feeling much more confident about it.



Having thought I hated crochet and having never got the hang of knitting patterns, I feel like I have really achieved something new this week. It took me 5 days to get this far, but I hope that this post will help you to progress quicker than I did. If I can work it out, so can you!

Remember that everyone’s learning style is different and that a book is just one option. There will be a set of instructions or a video out there that will make sense for you.

Believe in yourself and try something new today!

Happy crocheting!