Today I want to share my tricks for someone who is picking up crochet for the first time. In this Beginner’s Guide to Crochet: 10 Tips You Need to Know First, I’ll give you my advice for navigating the world of crochet. Keep reading to discover more!
When you start your first crochet project, your mind goes completely wild. You see hooks everywhere! I was there too and ended up with a closet full of yarn. To avoid making the same mistakes I did, read these tips, darling. Please!
Tip 1: Stop buying yarn you don’t need
As a yarn collector, please don’t buy all the yarn in the world. When I first started crocheting, I bought every yarn that looked nice, fun, soft, quirky, and more. Stripes, speckles, solids, gradient yarns… cotton, acrylic, bamboo, sock yarn, you name it. And guess what? Most of it is still sitting in that closet, unused, untouched, and gathering dust. Why? I couldn’t find a project for it. So, note to self: stop buying yarn you don’t need. Check your project and buy only the amount you actually need.
Tip 2: Expensive hooks don’t crochet better
If it’s your first time crocheting, don’t buy expensive hooks. Trust me—they don’t crochet any better than the hooks you can get at Action or Target. I use cheap hooks I bought at Action, with multi-colored grips. I also started with simple metal hooks. I still have them and use them as backups when I travel. The hooks you’ll use most for amigurumi are 2.0 mm, 2.5 mm, 3 mm, and 3.5 mm. For bags with thicker yarn, 4 mm, 5 mm, or 6 mm hooks work fine. When working with Hoooked Zpagetti, you can go for 8 mm or 10 mm.
Tip 3: Buy only one pattern at a time
My Dropbox is full of patterns. Some I bought on Etsy, Ravelry, and other platforms. I bought entire e-books and PDFs with all kinds of amigurumi, plants, cars, and more. I also have over 10 GB of free patterns—that’s over 2,000 patterns! You get my point: I’ll never make them all. I’d find something I liked, save it for later, and never look at it again. I have a list full of “I’ll make this this fall” items. Never made them. If you see cute patterns on Etsy, for example, save them for later! Buy one pattern at a time and make that item first. When you’re done, buy the next pattern. That way, you don’t waste money on patterns you’ll never use.
Tip 4: Use cheap yarn for your first swatches
If you’re brand new to crochet, start with cheap yarn. Watch a few videos and get the hang of it. Never try anything new with expensive yarn. Also, avoid yarn sold in a bundle with a pattern—the yarn is measured exactly, and if you cut too much, you’ll run out.
When I started crocheting, I bought the ugliest, cheapest yarn I could find at Action. It was a terrible acrylic yarn *&%^, but it was fine for the first try. It took me so many attempts to get the Magic Ring right. I wasted so much yarn in the beginning. When I finally mastered it, the ball was 3/4 used. Luckily, I used that yarn and not the yarn for the actual project.
Tip 5: Watching is better than reading
You can read books about crochet—how to make stitches and everything—but the fastest way is to look it up on YouTube. Type “Crochet Magic Ring,” and you’ll find plenty of videos. Just watch how the crocheter holds the yarn, the hook, and how their hands move. You’ll learn much faster by watching than by reading. And if the person goes too fast, slow down the video. It really helps!
Tip 6: Keep them separate
Yarn, yes, the yarn, what else! Nothing is more frustrating than one ball of yarn getting tangled. Throw everything in a bag, shake it 20 times, and you’ve got a giant yarn mess to sort out. Fun for the first hour, then downhill from there. Trust me, I’ve been there, done that, and never again! Keep them separate! Get a special “crochet bag” where you can sort your yarn. Wind it tightly or store it separately in ziplock bags.
Tip 7: Need more than one ball? Check the color number
If you’re starting a large project that requires multiple balls of the same color, check the color number! Yarn is dyed in factories with multiple batches. When a batch of many balls is finished, the machine is cleaned for the next batch. Over time, batch A runs out, and the factory makes more. That new batch may have a slightly different color number than the first. Why? They mix the color again, and it can vary by a gram or two. The new batch’s color may differ slightly from the previous batch. So if you need more than one ball, make sure the color numbers match.
Tip 8: Screen vs. real-life colors
Shopping for yarn online is fun. You can mix and match so many cute colors on your screen. Then you place your order, wait a few days for delivery, and… that’s not the color I ordered, right? Depending on your screen, colors can vary online. Once I bought a ball called “Mauve” from Drops. In the photo, it looked brown, but when it arrived, it was a bright purple. My project was a fox with small brown feet… yeah, the purple won’t work.
If you have a local store, go there! Or, if unsure, order a color swatch. Usually it costs around €10 / $15, but it’s worth it if it’s your favorite brand. This is the only way to see all the colors before ordering a full ball. My Mauve purple ball still sits in the closet.
Tip 9: Organize your WIP projects
I’ll admit it: guilty! Yes, I’m guilty of WIPs. I used to have so many projects lying around that I’d sometimes use the yarn for a second project and run out. Now I limit myself to 8 projects. How do I manage it? I bought small plastic crates to store my projects. I have 8 crates in total. When they’re full, no new project starts until I finish one. When the crates are full, tough luck for me. That’s how I handle WIPs. I keep all the yarn for a project in the box, along with a note of hook size, pattern, and so on, and put it on my desk. I have to finish the project first before using the yarn again. Clever, right?
Tip 10: Don’t buy pattern books based on the cover
You wouldn’t believe how many books I’ve bought—hardcover and e-books—without investigating. The cover looked cute, so I bought it. I made one thing from it and never looked at it again. I even have a book where I haven’t made a single item. They looked so cute when I was in the “baby phase” with my son. I wanted to crochet all the animals in the book, but I didn’t make a single one. Maybe it’ll go on my fancy fair list, otherwise… money wasted. Research the books you want to buy. Check your library for crochet books. But don’t judge a crochet book by its pretty cover.
That’s it for now. I hope this Beginner’s Guide to Crochet with 10 Tips helps you get started. If I come up with more tips, I’ll make a new post or update this one. If you have a tip, share it in the comments!
Love,
Adinda
