How to crochet for beginners?

If you have always been scared of knitting but wanted to learn how to crochet, you’ve come to the right place. At Vardhman Knit World, we speak the language of knitting day and night. We are here to assure you that a delicate art like crocheting is a lifelong skill that you can adorn for the rest of your life.

So, what is crocheting?

While you may think that crocheting is knitting, it is not. There are some obvious differences to the art of crocheting. Unlike knitting, crocheting requires only one hook rather than two needles. Also, crochets are more knots than knitting which is more about interlocking loops. Crocheting is great for toys, 3D shapes and other things that tend to be more solid than a garment.

Before you begin, you need to gather all the tools required to get started. Apart from your yarns and a crochet hook, you will require a pair of scissors and preferably a measuring tape.

Holding the crochet hook and yarn

The first skill to master is the correct way to hold your hook and yarn. The correct grip will help you achieve the perfect loops and stiches making your overall job much easier. While you will take a decent amount of time to master this, do not be afraid as there are two popular methods to hold your hook.

You can either hold your hook like you hold a knife or hold it like you hold a pencil. Figure out what works for you. Make sure to hold your hook roughly about 2-5 cm down from the tip.

Tying a slip knot

This is your first real experience into crocheting. To get started, twist and loop the yarn onto the hook. Then wrap the yarn under the hook and pull it through the loop to tighten. In this way, you will be making a firm knot on the circumference of your hook. This is called the slip knot. Do not pull too hard because you need to be able to pull your hook out of the knot.

Beginning a chain

You start a chain by wrapping your yarn around the hook and then pulling that loop through the loop that is already on your hook. For this, pull the yarn through the slip knot (the knot you’ve already made) and then gently move your hook pulling your yarn over through the slip knot. Now you will have the original knot and then another knot (also called loops). That’s it!

Make sure to not make your loops too tight and continue looping by pulling the thread through the adjacent loop (in straight numbers) until you have a chain. Some projects have ‘chs’ written on them, for example, chs 21; it means that you need to crochet 21 chain stitches.

Easy? Well, that depends on each one of you. While this is the best we can do to explain you how to begin with crocheting, you might either end up making your loops too tight or too loose. Your loops may even look uneven. Do not worry, this is nothing a little bit of practice cannot solve. So, follow the basic guide and keep crocheting. We’ll get back to you with some more methods of crocheting to get you started.

Meanwhile, visit https://vardhmanknitworld.com/ for more.