How I Learned to Love Crocheting

It all started when I was five. That was the first time my mother introduced me to crocheting. I had watched her crocheting, and thought it looked interesting. The first thing my mother showed me was how to make a chain stitch. I thought this was cool because I could make necklaces out of the chains. After that, she showed me how to crochet in the round, but I had a little more trouble grasping this concept, so I lost interest in it.

Fast forward 40 years. I’m now 45, and trying to find a way to express my creativity that would allow me to make things that we could use in our home, as well as garments we could wear. I thought about my mother and all the crafty things she did. She could sew, do needlepoint and cross stitch. At one point, I had gotten interested in latch hooking because I was going through some medical tests, and had to wait a long time in a lot of the clinics we were going to.

I discarded a lot of these ideas because they required too much stuff. For example, latching hooking requires a latch hook, as well as canvas for the project, and a lot of yarn. Then I remembered my mother had tried to teach me to crochet. It seemed like that hobby wouldn’t take as much stuff - just crochet hooks and yarn.

So I started researching crocheting. I was right, you didn’t need as many things as you do for other types of yarn craft. One thing I didn’t consider though, is that in addition to yarn and crochet hooks, I would also need stitch markers or something that I could use to mark my place in the projects I was making when I had to stop, or keep track of the number of stitches I was making. Still, I discovered crocheting requires a lot fewer supplies than other yarn crafting methods.

At first, I had a hard time learning to crochet because my left hand is weaker than my right. Because that hand is the one I used to keep tension in my yarn, my tension was weak in the beginning. I fixed that problem when I purchased a yarn bowl, however.

So I started crocheting. I learned the chain stitch again, which I discovered was the foundation of most crochet projects. This time I learned the other basic stitches - single crochet, half-double crochet, double crochet and treble crochet.

I experimented with different types of yarns. My first purchase was a skein of wool yarn. I found it to be very difficult to work with because it kept splitting. Later, I learned acrylic yarn is the best type of yarn for beginners to work with, and that Lion brand yarn was the best brand for beginners to start with.

Since then I’ve tried different types of yarn, depending on the type of project I was making. For example, anything used in the kitchen or the bathroom needs to be made out of cotton yarn, because it’s absorbent. Clothing pieces can be made out of cotton or acrylic yarn.

Since then, I’ve learned more complex stitches and techniques, like crocheting in the round and making granny squares. I’ve crocheted coasters, table runners, baskets, and a few three-dimensional projects. I’m still not a pro, but I’ve created some nice things for our home. I want to make more three-dimensional projects, and eventually learn Tunisian crochet. Eventually I might sell my creations, but for now I just enjoy making things for my home, and occasionally making a gift for a friend or family member.

I would recommend crocheting to anyone who enjoys making things out of yarn. It doesn’t require many materials to start, except for yarn, crochet hooks and stitch markers. As long as you have enough patience and make the time, you can learn to crochet all kinds of different things. This helps you save money on different things you need for your home, and create gifts for friends, or eventually create a side hustle or a full-time business.