Crochet Your Way: A Beginner’s Guide to Get Hooked
Crochet has started cropping up everywhere it seems, from the resurgence of crocheted bikinis to those cool vests made from granny squares – a combination of 70s revival, 90s-reviving-the-70s nostalgia, the enduring popularity of handicrafts and the simple appreciation of crochet’s sweet style. It’s a very handy, versatile fibre craft, capable of creating garments, homewares, accessories and those little amigurumi guys.
A useful skill for any human and, for the moment, only humans. There are no machines that can industrialise the process of crochet the way the sewing machine and knitting machines can. Robots cannot crochet. This may lead you to think of crochet goods you see in stores in a new light – who made these and under what circumstances? Or maybe you think, “Finally a hobby the AIs can’t steal!” (Though there is undoubtedly a software engineer in Silicon Valley working on it now as part of their plan to automate all human creativity and enjoyment so we can spend more time… creating capital?)
Either way, if your curiosity is tickled at the idea of picking up crochet for yourself, you’re in luck. We’ve put together some of the best resources for getting you hooked on this mighty art form. Granny squares aren’t just for squares and grannies! Crochet is cool. Check it out!
Let’s Start At the Very Beginning
Crochet is the snowboarding to knitting’s skiing – it’s easier to pick up on account of there being only one stick! All you need to start crocheting is a hook and some yarn – the word itself actually comes from the French croche meaning hook. There are a few initial stitches you need to learn after which things start to build on themselves rather nicely, and there are many places willing to teach you this secret knowledge. A couple of our faves are:
Cardigang (who have incidentally just launched workshops in Sydney, too!)
above BELLA COCO
Take The Tube
The mechanisms of crochet can often more easily be understood when seen in action rather than described in words and YouTube is a great repository of learning resources – from walkthroughs of individual stitches and the magic trick of magic circles, to tutorials for full-scale projects. Some great channels for beginners to check out are:
left CROCHET CRUSH SHOPPER BAG PROJECT right KATIE JONES
Take a Look, it’s in a Book
That’s not to say books are without their advantages, however. They’re portable, pausable, static and sexy. A book is a vault of its author’s crochet wisdom, specifically designed to build your knowledge more comprehensively than foraging for knowledge in the wild west of the world wide web. Plus they often have many, many cool projects in them! A few great books to try are:
Hip to be Square by Katie Jones
Contemporary crochet creator Katie Jones puts the hook in your hands with this terrific tribute to the granny square – the humble building block of many a crochet masterpiece. This maker’s manual has helpful how-tos for constructing five simple squares and then teaches you to transform them into heavenly homewares, attractive accessories and a gorgeous range of snazzy, size-inclusive garments.
Crochet Crush by Molla Mills
Finnish crochet superstar Molla Mills focuses on home decor and accessories in her book Crochet Crush, combining her colourful pop aesthetic with sturdy practicality to create an array of fun patterns and useful projects to mix and match. Molla encourages a slow, mindful process making you one with the yarn from the first chain loop.
above CARDIGANG CROCHET KITS
Get Hooked!
You can study the theory forever but eventually, you’ve gotta get on the field! The best way to get better is to pick up your hook and start making. One great thing about crochet is that if you mess it up you can simply unravel it with a pull of the string and start again – no mess, no waste!
Our pals at Cardigang have a comprehensive range of only the cutest crochet kits for everyone from total beginners upwards, guaranteed to contain everything you need to crochet a cuddly masterpiece.
Or you can start with something even simpler – a daisy chain perhaps, or a classic granny square. They say if you can make a granny square you can crochet anyone. They make a great exercise for refining your skills and as you collect them you can combine them into practically anything – a blanket, a cardigan, a cute cosy for your robot fighting laser blades – the sky’s the limit!
