I used to knit (but not purl, so I made hats that looked like condoms and that was pretty much it) and I am a blue ribbon cross stitcher, but I’ve never been able to master crochet. Usually I learn things from books and that works really well for me, but I just cannot for some reason learn crochet from books - the knots never look like the pictures or something. So I was thinking, hey, we have YouTube now, I’ll give it another shot.
And yes! For the first time in my life I have achieved the crochet stitch! Thank you, YouTube!
But what the fuck do I do now? The book makes no sense when it explains how to begin and end rows, and none of the videos cover that that I’ve found. (Great videos on specific stitches, no help at all on going back and forth.) So after I chain I make one extra and don’t crochet on to that, I got that. But at the end of that first row of actual non-chain stitches, where exactly do I NOT stitch onto? And what do I do at that point, and again at the end of that?
Also, I thought I was doing it right but am now confused - I understand what part of the chain to crochet onto, but my book (Crocheting in Plain English - I remember liking the author’s book on knitting) says something about after that going through both strands at the top… is that right? I’m confused and I’m just not finding any videos to help me with that.
Crochet’s great for women because it is much more about linking ‘vertical’ chains horizontally, so can produce something fast, where knitting is more solid. The reason it’s great for women is that men can wear knitwear but not really stuff with a lot of holes in it except for maybe a string vest - ideally grubby. I taught my wife to knit and she taught me to crochet.
It doesn’t really matter where you put the stitch from the standpoint of basic am-I-doing-it-right. You can put it through both loops, or just the front side, or just the back side, or you can put it through any part of the stitch, all of which create different effects.
Does this explanation of turning the work help?
(Note that the method differs depending on what stitch you use - the above is for single crochet)
So, if you’re putting the stitch through both loops, you’ll have three loops (only you’re treating two of them as the same thing) counting your yarn over in the first step of your stitch?
ETA - Hello Again, that link makes more sense to me, thank you.
Also, in the single crochet, is there a trick to getting the first loop of the “two loops through” phase through the hook? Because that one tightens up on me and I have to fingernail it through - I don’t think my stitches are too tight normally, but the action of trying to draw it through tightens it. Does that make sense?
I imagine that it could be possible to do everything that crochet can with knitting as well but it just has not been done. I like the idea of wearing clothes made of loops of ‘chain’ but only in Summer! And only when we’ve ridden ourselves of daft ideas that men in fancy clothes aren’t interested in women and more than women in jeans aren’t interested in men. More the other way round - if men want to dress more like women, maybe that they appreciate women more than others. I have to admit that women who regularly wear pants have been mightily more sexy than those always stuck with skirts. So maybe men who prefer women’s clothes prefer women too.
Can I admit why I actually dug out a crochet hook again? There’s a free Snuggie pattern. Don’t tell my boyfriend - I almost bought one for irony and he said “No! You’ll say you bought it for the irony but then you’ll start telling people it’s convenient, like you don’t have six robes, and you know how you are!” So it can’t not be ironic if I made my own.
Look at a line of single crochet stitches. You’ll see that across the top they form a “teardrop” shape. As long as you keep the total number of teardrops the same, it makes no difference to the integrity of the work, where you put those stitches.
For example:
you can put 3 stitches in one loop, then skip the next two loops, and you’ll get the popular “fan” shaped stitch.
you can can put one stitch in the loop, chain one (putting no stitch in the next loop) then put a stitch in the next one after that, you’ll get a sort of gappy checkerbox thing.
As long as the total number of “teardrops” remains consist, your work will remain a consistent width.
Do you see what I’m saying?
I would say that I usually put it in the “front loop” (meaning I insert the hook, from the front and below the teardrop, and put the hook through the teardrop).
If you stitch into the backloop only, each row will look “ridged” or like ribbing.
You didn’t give enough slack when you did “yarn over.” Give some extra, more than you think you need. The most likely cause is holding too much tension in the yarn hand.
I’m having a hell of a lot of trouble with my yarn hand - whenever I have to pull those suckers through I end up dropping everything and having to re-yarn myself, etc. I’ll try doing everything with what seems criminal looseness to my cross stitch brain and see how that works?
The other thing is, I don’t actually "yarn over. I actually “hook over.” Since my right hand is much more dextrous than my left, I simply hold the tension steady with my left hand, and use the hook to pick up as much slack as I want. On my old crochet messageboard (www.crochetville.org), we had a poll, and it turned out very few literally “yarned over” as described in the books. Usually they used some form of motion using the dominant right hand.
Hey, I’ve been wanting to start a craft group. If you live in NYC & are interested PM me.
I’m still a little confused about which stitch exactly is the last one you stitch on - the book has me confused again, is there a difference when you’re doing double or single stitches?
yes - there is a difference - in double crochet the “turning chain” (which is 3 chain stitches) is counted as a stitch and your last stitch is the top of the turning chain - in single crochet, I don’t believe you count the turning chain.
for yarn knitpicks.com is really great.
some of my old craft group swore by elann.com Smiley’s Internet Yarn Sale has a $50 minimum order and the selection is kind of catch-as-catch can, but their prices are amazingly low. For a large project like a blanket, or for very high end yarn like cashmere, they cannot be beaten.
I have found it helpful when teaching others to crochet, to use a light color, varigated (multicolored) yarn. This helps each stitch stand out & it is easier to count the stitches. Red Heart Classic has like a zillion colors, is available everywhere and is perfect for practice as it is very inexpensive (not so great for actual projects as it is a bit scratchy, IMHO).
I would especially NOT choose Lion Brand Wool-Ease, the plies of the yarn seem to split just by looking at it.
Argh, I still don’t get the turning stuff evidently, because in ten rows I’ve gone from 30 stitches to 26. I don’t know where the others went. I can’t tell from looking at them what’s a turning chain and what’s a stitch, because it all kind of looks the same to me, I guess, and the diagrams in the books are just not very clear. I mean, they’ll say “start in the fourth stitch” but then totally obfuscate whether we’re counting the chains we just made or not. Crocheters are shitty technical writers.
What I can say is just practice, practice, practice. When I look back at the first scarf I made, I too couldn’t figure out turning chains and I kept increasing in it and it was a wild mess. Now I am at the point where I have yet to find a pattern I have not been able to technically do. This is after about 10 years of doing it.
The more you practice, the more you’ll get the chain thing, you’ll be able to see it and won’t have to count your stitches.
I learned from a book. It made me crazy when it would explain something but not explain it well and with no pictures. But now I read that book and I chuckle at its simplicity.
Practice, practice, practice.
Even now, almost every complicated piece I make I have to disassemble after a few rows and start again, as I “get” the pattern after I try it and realize “oh, that’s where the picot goes” or “oh, in that ch spare. I see.”
Do test pieces, scrap pieces. The lightbulb will go on in your head and you’ll look back at this and laugh.
Well, that whole “ball of yarn + cat” thing? Not a myth.
The last time I did a lot of yarn arts, I didn’t have cats. Although Captain, who is a DOG, casually walked up and ate one of my short little efforts last night also.
