(I mainly crochet, and so when I speak of crochet in a general sense of the activity, knitting can also be referred to. There is a difference between crochet and knitting, but as both are related topics, even though I am focusing mainly on crochet, knitting and loom knitting can be applied to some of this).
When it comes to crochet or knitting, often times I have come across people who can’t help but remember their grandmothers for some reason, even though the interest has certainly grown for many age groups in the past several years. Yet, in spite of the uptick of people delving into some form of crochet or knitting, there are those who may find it hard to start, or stay motivated enough to finish. “Why spend a week on a scarf when you can just buy one?” they may ask. If all you want is one item and the activity is not something you would want to do were it not for that single item, the goals and motivations are certainly thinner than someone wanting to acquire a new hobby. I was awakened to this issue when trying to teach a friend how to crochet because of her desire to make a specific toy that she had seen me make before. The problem was, she had never crocheted before; and - spoiler alert! - she gave up and had me make her one instead.
My hope in this is to take what I have learned and help people know what they are getting into before they invest the time, money, and energy into something they might end up hating. As much as I enjoy crocheting, I don’t want to be unrealistic by only speaking of why I find it grand. And for those of you who already either knit or crochet, hopefully you can still glean some thoughts to keep in mind when teaching someone else. For simplicity’s sake I will assume you will know what crochet is and what knitting is, and know the bare basics of yarn and such. Also I want to focus on those who have yet to try crochet (or knitting).
Awareness and Curiosity
Being aware of what is encouraging you to consider something new can seem trivial, but to know your motivation level and fragility of said level, asking these questions to yourself can help you mentally gauge how motivated you will remain when you are in the thick of things compared to the original excitement you had in the beginning. The Studio previously wrote an introductory article for the Before You Try series to further delve into the basic questions that may need to be asked at this starting point. Once you know about your goals for learning crochet or knitting, it helps to figure out how much you are willing to invest into the activity. I will focus on what it takes to invest in yarn hobbies and less on the really basic information, since the information is easy to find nowadays, and various tutorials abound online and offline for many of you to refer to.
The Learning Curve: What do beginners need?
First, when you are starting on this, is your goal already pertaining to specific projects, do you at least have some idea of what you want to crochet or knit? Setting goals can help determine what tools and materials you will need to start out with, and what you need to learn first. What are you wanting to try? Crochet? Knitting? Loom knitting? Each is different, with their own basic tools and techniques required. If you just jump right in without any knowledge or practice, the end result almost always is disappointing, and the learning curve becomes far steeper, and more frustrating to boot. Knowing the basics, and learning them (as in putting them into practice) can improve the quality of the finished item, reduce the time it takes to make it, and makes the process less tedious.
Let’s start by speaking of costs and materials for a beginner testing the waters. Once you know you will like continuing to crochet and have gotten the hang of it, you can judge what to get based on your goals and your preferences.
For a bare minimum, you will need:
A crochet hook (I suggest something that will go well with a 4 weight/medium weight yarn so you get the feel for how to handle the hook and the yarn without strain. The size of the crochet hook would be somewhere between 4.5 mm to 6.5 mm roughly estimating). One or two is all you will need starting out. If you have a specific project in mind already, you can get yarn and a crochet hook that is good for the project alongside your practice yarn and medium size hook.
-- Average costs (judged by US standards) can range from $1 - $7 a hook. A practice hook should be functional and comfortable for you, but don’t go all out budget-wise until you are sure of the hooks you would find suit you best, and have spent a little extra time hunting for the best price or sale of your preferred tools.
A skein of Yarn (can be an inexpensive medium weight [4] yarn that is in a color that makes your work easy to see, and as for the texture I recommend something that is does not fray much, and is something not too smooth or too rough). Having either extreme of texture can be hard for someone crocheting for the first time, since your hand may hurt easier when you still are trying to figure out how to properly hold and handle the hook and what you are working on. The last thing you need are cramped hands as your first impression.
-- Costs can range anywhere from $1 - $15 per skein of yarn. If there is a yarn you like and it is expensive, practice on something cheap first that has a similar weight, whether you are starting out or when you are trying out a new stitch or concept.
Yarn needle (while not always necessary, it helps in finishing your work by “sewing” the excess yarn into the finished piece to hide it.) Depending on what you are working towards, it may not be necessary at first.
-- Cost varies a lot depending on the brand, the material it is made from, where you buy them, and if you get them in a set or by themselves. A rough guesstimate would be a range of $1 - $10 (higher costs usually referring to inexpensive and small sets of tools).
Stitch markers (stitch markers can have may inexpensive substitutes for if you are unsure if you even need a stitch marker. Instead of buying stitch markers, you can use a paper clip or the like. I personally did not need stitch markers until I began to crochet toys and make my own patterns).
-- For a packet that can range from 10 to 200 stitch markers, the price can range from $1 – over $10 based on where you purchase them and other factors.
For someone wanting to crochet and already knowing that they like to crochet or at least find it worth doing, I still would recommend only getting a set of tools instead of everything individually if it costs less for you. If you have the luxury to, shop around first before you decide the best buy. Also knowing to not get too much can help save storage space, so getting the biggest tool set is not always for everyone. Being able to foresee what types of projects you will be doing and what weights of yarn you will be working with can help determine what you need and the cost of it. For example, if you don’t like working with lace yarn, and don’t ever see anything that will make you work with lace yarn in the future, don’t worry as much about getting crochet hook sizes that you would not use unless you were working on lace.
The Cost of Time
Not everyone, myself included, finds every process of crochet as “fun”. That does not mean it is not worth doing. For a long time, the process of crocheting helped keep my mind busy when waiting, while at the same time not preoccupying my mind completely like reading a book did. For me, crochet was at first less of an actual hobby and more of a something that kept boredom at bay, and also kept me open for conversations and being more aware of my surroundings.
If you are just learning how to crochet, most of you will be working at a snail’s pace compared to those of us who have been crocheting for years and have it practically down to muscle-memory. The time you have to invest in is not just the time it takes for doing a project, it is the time it takes to learn something as well (I think that goes for just about everything, not just crochet). Even when you do learn, it still takes time to crochet something. Some simple projects can take one to three hours to complete, some may take weeks. It depends on the project, and it depends on you. The good thing about starting out simple can get you familiar with your timing.
For beginners, I would suggest investing time into familiarizing yourself with the basics, about 2 to 3 weeks, or until you see an improvement. Your tension should be comfortable but firm, and you should be able to have control over the yarn. This slower more boring-sounding process is important; the more your hands crochet the more comfortable and less stained they become. Applying proper ways of positioning your hands while crocheting in the very onset will instill a habit that prevents hand injuries. One of the first things you need to learn, in fact, is how to position your hands. It will also contribute to the time it takes for you to finish a project.
If it is any consolation, it took me 3 weeks (somewhere around 20 hours total) to finish a large toy I had made for a friend. This was after almost a decade of crochet experience and almost 2 or 3 years’ experience of crocheting toys. But the simpler 60 x 50 inch blanket I made with bulky yarn for another friend (in the same year as the toy) took me far longer (over 25 hours), and cost a lot more.
Crochet is not a speedy process by any standard, but had I just started, the toy and the blanket would have probably taken 3 times as long, and might not have looked as nice. For me, hand-making those gifts was by far more worth it than hunting through a store and buying gifts that were basic and dull, with little choice in color, or to costly. When you make something yourself, it can feel good to have control over how it will feel and look, and, when the finished result is something you like, it makes the process less tedious-feeling, if not more worth-while. I cannot say everyone feels this way, but if you decide to crochet (or knit), I hope that you too can have this pleasant feeling when you finish a project, even if you are like me and not always enjoying every process to make it.
Utilize your time to be productive, and in turn help your hands get used to the actions, get familiar with the proper way of positioning your hands and fingers to prevent injury or strain, and practice the tension to make everything uniform and neat. Putting extra time and effort into practicing the basics results in a more quality finished product. You will have to invest a lot of time into any crochet or knitting project, and so don’t let it be something that is rushed. If you want the final result to be worth the effort, you have to be willing to put effort into the project to begin with.
Building Knowledge and Skills
The basics of crochet are as follows: slip knot, foundation chain, single crochet/double crochet stitch (or whatever first basic stitch you wish to learn). For many of you, this can be easy to learn how to do, with so many classes and tutorials available on and offline. Once the basics are done, you can begin to build off of the basics and get closer to achieving your goals project-wise. These three basics just mentioned are, I think, the most basic and necessary to know for crochet. I have never come across a project that made me think other-wise.
With the basics done, you can start delving into projects and learning new types of stitches for different looks, as well as learn to work with different types of yarns and hook sizes. Now comes the question: do you need to learn about reading crochet (or knitting) patterns? As someone who did not learn how to read a pattern until after 7 years of crocheting, I would say it is not vital. At least, not in the beginning. When you get a how-to book or a pattern, there are two main ways a crochet pattern is displayed: a diagram, or as abbreviations. When you work using a pattern or learn a new stitch from a book, that is when you will pretty much need to know how to read a pattern.
The diagram version shows an image representing the project, and within the image are symbols, each representing a certain stitch, chain, the start of the next row, or other direction. Abbreviations are in the form of a list of directions, based on the rows, with each row containing abbreviations of directions as well as numbers describing how many stitches you need to do, how many times to repeat a portion of instructions, and how. (Sorry that I am terrible at explaining the concepts). Both are commonly used, even in books discussing how to expand your repertoire of crochet stitches. I personally had a hard time wrapping my brain around reading patterns for 2 weeks, and had to delve into many resources to hear it explained in 50 or more different ways. In the end I learned the abbreviations and can’t remember why I thought of them as hard to understand to begin with, but to this day I still have trouble with the diagrams. I would think it safe to say that the earlier you learn how to read a crochet pattern, the better.
Avoid the sloppy “Home-Made” look
For crochet, even when you have become skilled, having the sort of childish chunky look can still happen and be a real turn off. Some of you may not mind it, but for those that do, the solution to avoid that “look” is simple. When it comes to crochet and knitting, the main culprit tends to be the yarn you use. If you take a pattern and use completely different yarn brands, types, and/or sometimes even weights, you will almost always get two very different results: one may be something you loath, the other may be something that looks like a quality store-bought piece. This is why it is good to become familiar with yarn early on.
Wellness
Be rest assured that the threat of cramping or other issues is minimal when you take breaks, stretch your hands out, keep good posture, and not sit for hours on end. The same goes for your eyes: every so often look away from your project and focus your eyes on something far away. Always be proactive when it comes to your health and posture. If you are worried about developing carpal tunnel syndrome or anything else from crochet or knitting, be assured that as long as you are taking the initiative to be conscious of your posture, handling everything properly, and everything I just mentioned before, you should be fine. Instilling these good habits when you first learn how to crochet makes everything easier and less stressful. It is easier to maintain a good habit than have to fight off the bad habits to replace it with a good one.
All In All
I think that when writing this I needed the extra day to delay publishing it because I could not decide how to do this article. Frankly, my first draft got me labeled as a “windbag” (in a fond way), but now I feel I am way too vague, that I didn’t talk enough about it in a way that can be more helpful. There is this back and forth, of whether or not I should go over everything, be more specific, or go into knitting and loom knitting options as well. This fear of not being helpful keeps bugging me, yet I worry that if I mess with the article more it would turn into a whole book, at least. The main point is that people need to know what they are getting into and how to make the chance of disappointment less likely when they try out the hobby, right? There is so much information out there nowadays that at this point I feel that going into too much detail and instruction would be counter-productive. So, hopefully, at least some of you found this article helpful, or at least you found it not too dull. Either way, if you try out crochet or knitting, I wish for you to enjoy it no less than I do, and your finished projects make you happy and make you feel accomplished.
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