Learn Crochet

Hello! Would you like to learn how to crochet? The pages linked below contain my explanations, advice, photos, and diagrams, augmented by links to additional verbal, photographic, and video instructions. All pages also have patterns and links to patterns suitable for practicing. I will continue to add links, revise local material, and improve navigation whenever I see an opportunity. In the interest of making this useful to people who want to drop in here or there rather than work start to finish, there is a bit of repetition of information. Abbreviations and pattern conventions will be introduced along the way, but visit my Crochet Reference page to get the whole list.

There’s a great quick lesson in crochet by Stacie Naczelnik if you want something more streamlined. I’m looking into a more choose-your-own-adventure style organization for my pages, which will streamline them, but that’s a long ways off.

If you have a favorite online instructional resource please tell me about it; please also let me know if you find this useful, and even more so if you think it’s a near miss and have a suggestion for improving it. Good luck!

[Jump down to quick links for my in-person students or a list of my main external resources.]

Table of Contents:

0.	Before You Begin	choosing materials, center-pull yarn, hook and yarn holds, a note for left-handers
1.	Big and Little Loops	yarn terms, slip knot, chain stitch, slip stitch, square knot, chain counting, crochet abbreviations
Interlude.	Anatomy Lessons	parts of the chain and how to stitch into it
2.	The Main Stitch	single crochet, laying incomplete work aside, sewing crochet pieces together, finishing yarn ends
3.	Bigger and Smaller	various methods to increase and decrease the number of single crochet stitches in a row
4.	Growing Up	half double crochet, double crochet, and their turning chains and decreases
Interlude.	Choose Your Weapon	notes on gauge, tension, and selecting hooks and yarns
5.	Extensions and Patterns	changing strands of yarn for color change or otherwise, in single crochet and taller stitches, and what to do with the unused strands
6.	Loop the Loop	ways to work in the round, starting rounds, adding new yarn via slip stitch
7.	Ami Elements	15 amigurumi skills not yet addressed, including the magic ring, invisible decrease, and closing the final hole
Appendix.	Where Else to Go Next	descriptions and links for a gradually expanding list of crochet topics; does not require the Ami Elements material

 

Quick links for my in-person students: these are one or two of my favorite links for the topics we cover in class, in the order we cover them.

Part 1: slip knot and chain stitch diagrams; chain stitch video (also discusses yarn tension and holding the hook); slip stitch diagrams; slip stitch video; single crochet video; stepwise increasing diagrams and stepwise decreasing diagrams.

Part 2: single crochet decrease diagrams; single crochet decrease video; double crochet video; double crochet increase at start of row diagrams; double crochet increase in middle of row diagrams; double crochet decrease video; changing yarn at end of row video; changing yarn in middle of row video

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Main external resources:

Annie’s Attic has a lot of crochet pages with straightforward verbal explanations, diagrams, and videos.

Crochet Geek, and particularly The Art of Crochet by Teresa, has a series of videos that cover one stitch at a time. The quality of the explanation and audio is uneven, but they are good for visual learners because they show a lot of footage of crocheting, some in slow motion. Some videos are also in lefty form.

The “For Dummies” books have a companion webpage with in depth explanations of a range of stitches and other crochet topics.

Knit Simple Magazine Crochet 101 doesn’t cover a lot, but what it does cover it does well.

Finally, Tamara Kelly’s (Mooglyblog’s) YouTube videos are terrific, and also give you a chance to see the rare pencil-hold crocheter in action.