Crocheting is Fun!
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Do you want to learn to crochet? Then this post is for you! I am going to walk you through how to crochet, step by step, in an easy to follow format. I am left handed myself so I know first hand how difficult it can be to find material to teach us lefties, therefore I have posted left handed tutorial videos in this post. If you are right handed, don’t fret! I have tutorials for right handed people below as well. If you would like to hear more about how I got into crochet, my roadblocks and how I plan to help you, see my Welcome to Crochet with Shay post. Please share this post if you find this tutorial helpful!
Materials Needed
The following is a list of needed material with links you can click to get everything online. I personally use and like these products.
- Crochet hook
- I recommend getting a set of different sizes of hooks so you have them for multiple projects and so you can experiment with what hooks you want to use.
- Personally, I prefer the hooks with ergonomic handles rather than the plain metal ones, because they are more comfortable to crochet with and my hands don’t cramp with them like they do with the plain metal ones. When I learned to crochet, ergonomic hooks were not around much so I used the plain metal ones for many years. When I got my first ergonomic hook, it felt life changing because my hands were so much more comfortable with my crochet sessions! I really like Clover Crochet Hooks because they are good quality.
- Yarn – One or two skeins should be enough to get you started
- Regular Red Heart yarn is easy to work with and a good option for beginners, depending on what you want to make for your first project.
- I have a perfect beginner project, a washcloth, with step by step instructions to follow. If you’d like to follow this tutorial, good brands are Peaches & Creme or Lily Sugar’n Cream.
- Scissors – To cut the yarn. I personally recommend fabric scissors because you want to give the yarn a clean cut.
- Stitch Markers – Optional. I personally like the metal ones because the plastic ones seem to break too easily. I have heard from many others that the plastic ones break easily for them as well. I have a set of metal stitch markers that I have been using for a couple years now and they still work just as good as when I first got them (with the exception of maybe 2 or so that have broken over the years).
Yarn Recommendations
I recommend starting with a light colored yarn because it will be easier to see your stitches. When choosing your yarn, I would not start with a fuzzy yarn. The fuzzy yarn is wonderful and I love using it, but it is not as beginner friendly and does have a bit of a learning curve, because your stitches are a lot harder to see. For a beginner project, the yarn depends on what you would like to make. If you would like to make a beginner friendly washcloth, click here. If you plan to make the washcloth, I recommend the brand Peaches & Creme or Lily Sugar’n Cream.
Crochet Hooks
For your crochet hook, as a beginner, I generally recommend starting with a J hook and also, possibly a K hook for the chain. You can really pick whatever style of hooks you like, but I personally like the ones with an ergonomic handle, rather than the plain metal ones because they are more comfortable to crochet with in my opinion. These Clover crochet hooks are a good option.
TIP: Crochet hooks are made the same for right or left handed individuals so no need to try and find left handed hooks if you’re a lefty.
TIP: I have found it to be helpful to have a hook one size larger than you plan to use for your project, that you can use for your chain. I will explain why below.
Helpful Tips
Now that we have picked the yarn and hook, I’ll give you a few helpful hints. Most beginners tend to make their chains pretty tight, so focus on relaxing a bit. The chain forms the foundation for your projects and is creating the width of your project. Try to make your stitches as uniform in size as you can, but don’t worry overly much about it because that will come with practice. Also, experiment with how you hold your yarn and tension. Tension is how tight you hold the yarn coming into the project. Each person seems to have their own technique that works best for them. Don’t be afraid to switch it up a bit and don’t worry if you hold your yarn differently than I do. Make lots of chains and get comfortable with them before moving to the next step. As you get better with your tension, your stitches will become more uniform in size as well.
As I mentioned above, many beginners tend to make their foundation chains pretty tight. Because the chain is tight, it makes the second row significantly harder because it is hard to get the hook into the chain to do the stitches and also a chain that is too tight causes curling of the crocheted piece along and difficulty getting it to lay flat. To combat this issue, I have found that it can be immensely helpful to go up a hook size for your chain. When you are ready to proceed with your first row after the foundation chain, you would switch over to your smaller hook that you will use for the rest of your project. There is a video tutorial below for a slipknot and chain. (First video tutorial for the chain is right handed and the second is left handed). Before you watch the video, the main points to remember so far are as follows:
- For your first project, use a light colored yarn. A couple good options are Peaches & Creme or Lily Sugar and Cream
- Don’t start with a fuzzy yarn
- Try to relax so you don’t crochet too tight
- If needed, use one size larger hook for the chain than you plan to use for the rest of the project
- Don’t worry about perfection or speed at first – that will come with time
- Get comfortable with the chain stitch before moving on to the single crochet
Without further ado, see the tutorial videos below to get started. Remember to have fun!
Slipknot tutorial
Once you have made your slipknot, watch the appropriate video below to learn a chain stitch (right or left handed tutorial).
Chain stitch, right handed tutorial
Chain stitch, left handed tutorial
When you have your chain down, try a single crochet stitch. Single crochet is a US crochet term. Keep in mind when you start reading patterns, they can be written in US or UK terms, which will change how your project is worked. For now, we are going to focus on crochet in US terms.
TIP: If you would like more information on crochet in UK terms vs. US, I really liked this article by “By Goldenberry”, you can access her article here, called UK Crochet Terms to US. It also has a lovely conversion chart in the article that will help you if you have a pattern in UK terms and want to convert to US terms or vice versa.
For your first project, I recommend making something small such as a washcloth. Here is a beginner friendly washcloth if you’d like to try that. Practice with your tension and get comfortable with doing the single crochet stitch. Once you are comfortable with a chain and single crochet, you will be set up for success. Most things in crochet build off this knowledge, therefore the rest should come fairly easy.
If you find the first row to be difficult, don’t give up! I promise it gets easier with time. Also, it is my opinion that the first row after the chain is the hardest part, so once you get past that, it gets easier.
Reminder: Before you begin your single crochet stitch, don’t forget to switch to your smaller hook if you went up a hook size for your chain stitch.
Single crochet stitch, right handed tutorial
Single crochet stitch, left handed tutorial
When you complete your first row, see the next video to see how to do your second row. All remaining rows will be like the second row.
Second row single crochet tutorial, right handed
Second row single crochet tutorial, left handed
When you complete your project and are ready to finish it, tying it off is easy. Simply cut your yarn and pull the loop all the way out and pull it tight. Then you just weave the ends in. See the video below to see how to finish the project.
How to tie off your project, right handed tutorial
How to tie off your project, left handed tutorial
Congratulations! You’ve learned the basics of crochet! A couple links that you might find helpful are:
Beginner washcloth step by step tutorial
Common beginner crochet mistakes and solutions
How to read a crochet pattern
If you found this tutorial helpful, please share:
