Crochet FAQs

The Crochet Gathering is my crochet tutoring group, it happens every other Friday from 2pm until 3:30pm and I'm lucky enough to say that I have a loyal group of ladies who turn up each time. The group isn't aimed at a certain skill level as I have patterns for absolutely any skill level, it just happened that mainly beginners started coming to the group and so that was just how it went. These FAQs are what I've picked up over the course of the Crochet Gathering, so if any of my regular ladies read this, these might ring a bell! :)

How is your work so neat and mine is so messy?

I might as well begin with the most frequent of the frequently asked questions. When I'm showing someone how to do the stitch I'm talking to them about, they sometimes look at me like I've grown another head because the stitches I'm doing look so different to the ones they were doing. And they say "why does yours look so neat and tidy? Why doesn't mine look like that?" My only reply to that, and it's always the same, is that you can't teach tension.

The lovely lady who taught me to crochet said exactly the same and it made me feel so much better. I just had to trust that with practice and patience, eventually I'd get into the swing of things and my work would start looking more uniform and neat. Your tension is your own, someone else's might be tighter or looser than yours but eventually, loose or tight, your work will start to look neat and tidy.

What kind of yarn/hook should I use?

For any beginner at the Gathering I always suggest something along the lines of an aran weight yarn to go with the stitches/patterns I teach. I find that this is big enough to see your stitches without being unwieldy like some chunkier yarns.

Some think that any hook goes with any kind of yarn and this just isn't the case. You'll find that on the label of the yarn you're looking at there will be a recommended hook size for UK and US.

This is an example from a ball of Caron Simply Soft.

How do I keep my edges straight?

That sneaky turning chain

Let's say we're working a simple treble stitch blanket row upon row, sometimes a pattern will call for you to work in the very first stitch from the previous row, this is when the turning chain does NOT count as a stitch. If a pattern calls for you to begin in the second stitch from the previous row then it IS counting the turning chain as a stitch. Some don't like the look of the edges when you do not count the turning chain as a stitch as it can sometimes leave a bit of a gap, and if you do count the turning chain as a stitch it can sometimes leave a little bump as though it is a little too crowded over there, it all depends on your personal preference; personally I don't like to count the turning chain as a stitch as I don't like the little gap at the edge of my work.

Missed stitches/ chain spaces

Some patterns are utterly dependent on a certain number of stitches per row, such as amigurumi, in this case a stitch marker is your best friend. All patterns call for a certain number of stitches otherwise they wouldn't be patterns, but in some cases it's just a matter of working into a particular chain space or into the stitches from the previous row, so if you miss a chain space or don't go into a certain stitch from the previous row your edges will be uneven or wonky. If you're just getting started or have trouble with uneven edges then using a stitch marker at the beginning of each row could help. Staying focused on which stitches you're going into until you get the hang of it is sure to help too.

Any tips for a beginner to crochet?

Stitch markers! Have I mentioned stitch markers? Not only am I a fiend for fancy, pretty stitch markers I can decorate my lovely little crafter granny Evelyn with, I use stitch markers in all of my amigurumi. Say when I'm half-crocheting, half-watching some new true crime documemtary on Netflix and I don't want to keep track of how many stitches I've done - BOOM, stitch marker. Want to keep your place in a project? Stitch marker. Need a fancy pin to wear on your jumper/ cardigan? Stitch marker.

As you can see below, I have a carefully curated and growing collection of stitch markers. The colourful ones at the top you can buy in big quantities from Amazon here for not much money at all and the rest I purchased from various Etsy sellers and/or yarn shows I've been to.

Create a board on Pinterest dedicated just to crochet, and if you don't have a Pinterest account, create a Pinterest account and have a board on there dedicated just to crochet. If you regret it, let me know because you actually won't regret it.

Try everything. When I first started crocheting I attempted patterns that, based on the skill level, were way out of my league. I just looked at what stitches were involved and if I knew how to do that stitch then I could do that pattern. It may have taken longer than it would for someone who had been crocheting longer i.e. the pineapple keychain I tried to make that involved the dreaded, (at least to me anyway) diamond stitch. It took me about two days to make that first keychain and when I attempted it a second time it took me an evening.

Pattern from Spin a yarn crochet blog

Well, that's all for this post, I hope you've enjoyed me bending your ears about all things woolly, if you have and you'd like me to bend your ear some more, please do check out my Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook for more yarn-y goodness! (They're at the top of my home page ;))

Toodles!