Crochet for Beginners: Basic Terminology
Crochet like any other craft or art form has its own language. Patterns use abbreviations to make the them easier to read and understand. I have prepared a list of basic terminology you’ll need to understand the wonderful world of crochet. As you become more familiar with crochet you’ll learn new terminology, but for now let’s go over the basic terms and meanings. As your crochet skills advance, you'll find that you probably won't even need to refer to a list anymore. Until then, this guide will get...
Crochet Basics: Making a Foundation Chain
The crochet foundation chain is the first stitch you need to learn when starting your very first project. Use this very simple foundation chain crochet tutorial to master your basic technique. Enjoy!
Crochet Basics: Holding a Hook & Care Tips
Achieving mastery of any craft requires knowledge of, and experience with, the tools used for the craft. Learn two basic ways to hold a crochet hook and some useful recommendations, that will help you master the art of crochet. Crochet hooks require a certain level of care, so here are some tips and tricks to help you out. There are two basic ways to hold a crochet hook: the knife hold and the pencil hold. Crocheters are very opinionated about which is the proper way to hold the hook, but, trust me, it...
Crochet Basics: Choosing Yarn
These simple tips and yarn recommendations are aimed to help crocheters select their first yarn to use for making practice swatches when learning how to crochet. Hope you will find them useful! The first decision that you have to make is what type of fiber you are going to work with. There are many various options to choose. You can crochet with everything. However, the three most common yarn choices for beginners are wool, cotton, and acrylic yarn. There are pros and cons to each, although I really recom...
Crochet Essentials: Hook Sizes & Tips
Most crochet hooks are a similar shape, but they come in many different materials. One of the hardest things when I first started to crochet was keeping control of my yarn. For this reason, I highly recommend bamboo, wood or plastic crochet hooks to start. The good news is, plastic and bamboo crochet hooks are quite inexpensive and can be found in a lot of dollar stores. Anyway, which type you use is up to you. Some people prefer the warm feel of wood or bamboo; others prefer the cheaper metal ones – try v...
Mastering Knitting Basics: Cast On
Every knitting project, whether simple or advanced, requires you to use any of casting on techniques. Try to master these techniques at home, and next time I’ll focus on some other useful methods such knit-on, cable, tubular, invisible and provisional cast ons. If you like this format of short knitting guides, please let me know down in comments, and I’ll prepare a series of such tutorials, and hopefully videos, who knows! See you soon! Happy knitting!
Knitting Basics: How to Hold Yarn and Needles – Continental Style
I recommend trying a new knitting style on an entire small project before deciding whether it is right for you. It may take more than a small swatch for your hands to get comfortable with a new knitting style. Feel free to modify how you hold the needles or tension your yarn to make it work best for you. Give yourself some time (at least 2 weeks!) to get used to this method but once you get the hang of it, it really becomes a very quick, easy, and relaxing way to knit. I hope this short guide is helpful ...