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THINGS I WISH I'D KNOWN BEFORE I STARTED CROCHETING!
- Emma
- Aug 25, 2020
- 4 min read
Please note this is just my personal experience that I am sharing with you. I am not being sponsored, or are affiliated, with any of the companies that I mention below.
I have been crocheting for 6 years now, and I am sure that we all learn things along the way when we start as a beginner, things we wish we had known before making all the mistakes that made us learn them in the first place. So this is a list of things I wish I'd known before I started crocheting, in the hope that it might be useful to someone starting out too. Let's get on with it...
1 - If you're on a budget, shop around for supplies. Although convenient, places like Hobbycraft and independent wool shops can be on the pricey side and don't always offer the best deals (although if you can afford it, supporting your local independent wool shops is a great thing to do!). You can find some great offers regularly on websites like Love Crafts (if you sign up to their emails you find them out first and they sometimes send you money off codes too), but if you are shopping the high street, even Poundland sells yarn these days and it's often on 3 for 2!
2 - Only buy yarn when you need it for a project if you don't want to end up with a massive stash that just sits there collecting dust (as pretty as it is to look at), because believe me, no matter how much you have you will never have the right shade or the right thickness that you need for that pattern you really want to do, and so you just end up needing to buy more.
3 - You don't always have to use the exact yarn called for in a pattern - slight contradiction to the previous statement but also handy to know . Often if you have a similar shade in the same weight of yarn, you don't need to have the same brand. If you are happy to swap for less luxurious fibers, you can often save a fortune making something that could easily have cost a lot more.
4 - I find it's best to always buy at least 300g (so 3x100g or 6x50g etc.) if you do collect yarn for a stash, so you have enough to make something of a decent size. I would also add to this point that you should experiment with different brands, don't fill your whole stash with one particular type or brand, you could be missing out on some great alternatives.
5 - UK terms are NOT the same as US terms (Don't ask me why!) so check which terms your pattern is written in or it won't turn out how you want it to. (In my opinion US terms make much more sense, I don't know why they can't just stick with them and scrap the UK terms, but that debate is for another day).
6 - When crocheting in rows, don't miss the stitch in the turning chain if you've been told it counts as a stitch. So many times in the early days did I sit back and think 'why is this square going off to the side?', it's because I was missing a stitch!
7 - There is a back and front to stitches, especially important in amigurumi! I learned this quickly thankfully, after finishing a couple of my first pieces and then realising they were all inside out!! It's not a major thing but when you know, you know!
8 - Your tension will work out in time. When you begin you will be all fingers and thumbs, and your tension will be all over the place, sometimes too loose, sometimes too tight, but the more you practice, the quicker it will settle down.
9 - You don't have to subscribe to magazines... if you already have an Amazon Prime subscription! This is something I learned recently, that if you have Prime, you can actually access free digital copies of magazines like Simply Crochet with Prime Reading. OK - so it's not going to give you the same thrill of it dropping on the door mat every month, and you don't get the odd free gift they send - but it saves you paying twice!
10 - Lockable stitch markers are your best friend. You will need them in nearly all projects, and you definitely want to get ones that close, I had some that just swirl round the stitch, but believe me, there is nothing worse than it falling out mid round and you have no idea where on Earth it came from.
11 - Don't waste your money buying small bags of toy stuffing from places like Hobbycraft (I know it sounds like I don't like Hobbycraft - not true - they are great for so many things, there are just better options out there in this instance!), instead buy a pack of soft fiber pillows from somewhere like Morrisons (I got 2 for a fiver!) and just cut them open, it will last for ages!
12 - YouTube is a great free resource. Once you learn the basic stitches you can make so much (one of the things I love about crochet), but if you get stuck or need a new stitch, or even want a free pattern YouTube is a great place to start. (And there is a bonus tip for you here! You don't always have to pay for patterns (shhh!), although I fully support pattern buying on places like Etsy - hey I sell my own (you can find them here) - you can get some great ones if you don't have the budget, for free, on YouTube, and websites like Love Crafts and Ravelry).
And that is it ladies and gentlemen! I hope you have enjoyed these tips and tricks for the crochet beginner! I hope it helps you make less mistakes than I did when I was starting out and saves you some money too!
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