Top 5 Tips for a Beginner at Crochet

Getting started at Crochet can be a daunting idea, you've seen people doing it on social media and you are desperate to learn, create beautiful clothes, cute plush toys or stylish home furnishings and you haven't a clue where to start. Here are my Top 5 Tips for you before you dive into the wonderful world of Crochet.

1. The Hook
2. The Yarn
3. Holding The Yarn
4. Swatches
5. The Tutor 

The Hook

I recommend a soft grip hook, for a beginner I would also recommend a 4mm. If you are just starting out on your crochet journey picking the right hook is important, you will likely stick with the type and brand you start out with for some time, changing to a different hook can completely change the look of your work even if you are using the same size. 

I use a Whitecroft Essentials 4mm Softgrip Crochet Hook for most projects, obviously you will need more sizes as you progress, but this is all you will need when you start out.

The Yarn

Start with a good quality Acrylic DK Yarn. "Good Quality" does not mean expensive! Walking into a yarn shop and being faced with an endless choice could lead you into buying lots of beautiful yarns you love but haven't got a clue what you are going to do with them!

If you are a complete beginner all you need is a couple of balls of DK (Double Knit) dont be tempted to spend a fortune. In my shop I would direct a beginner to my great value range of DK for only £1.99 from Woolcraft or £2.39 for my range of Cygnet DK which has more colour choice.

Ordering yarn online might be your choice and if so stick to the same principle, a good quality Acrylic Yarn. In the UK we have different terms for wool and yarns to America and other countries, ordering online will face you with this issue more likely than if you had walked into a yarn shop. For instance Americans call DK, Light Worsened weight, the "Weight" is basically the thickness of the yarn or wool you are using. 

Just remember my advice when starting "Good Quality" Acrylic DK yarn, the rest will come with time as you advance to patterns and projects that require different Weights and blends.

Holding The Yarn 

There are different ways that the yarn can be held, online tutorials and tutors will tell you to hold it in a certain way, but the way you hold the yarn is not as important as people think, hold the yarn whatever way that feels comfortable to you. The way you hold the yarn will probably change as you learn and so will your tension so don't focus on it too much.  

Swatches

Swatches are practice pieces, when I teach a beginner this is where I start, doing small pieces of work practicing different stiches. These practice pieces are useful for working out what your tension will be like, when you start out your tension will probably be loose until you get used to the stiches and your work becomes consistently the same. This is the main reason for practicing first, if you jump straight into a project there will be inconsistencies that will spoil the look of the finished project.

The Tutor

Finding the right tutor is important and will take time, find somebody that you enjoy listening to and is patient, learning crochet should be fun and you shouldn't be made to feel like your back at school. If you came into my shop I would offer a beginner course or a one to one session, most wool and yarn shops will offer workshops or tuition and if they don't they should be able to recommend somebody. My YouTube has a selection of tutorials that will help a beginner with the basics and some for people with more experience.

You can find the links to all my social media accounts on the home page.

Happy Crocheting!