February’s craft to try out is crochet. I am an experienced knitter but have never even tried to crochet before.
I overconfidently picked up a crochet kit and looked at it. It had instructions in English and French, and frankly (pun intended) they looked the same. Just because you know how to knit does not make it easier to learn how to crochet- I have heard people say it’s harder because your knitting knowledge and muscle memory get in the way.
Using “Crochet for Dummies” (the large print edition) I managed to get the general idea of the first steps. While I was fumbling around with a chain and single crochet, I kept thinking “this is stupid.” It is knot tying using a hook. One hand was struggling with holding all the yarn, while the other hand was pulling loops through two other loops like I was trying to back out of a too-tight sweater. Pulling loops from the chain is like picking up stitches in knitting, something I struggle with as I misidentify where loops start.
“Easy Crochet for Kids” had photos of each step (get a kids book if you want to learn a craft, they take out the unnecessary parts, usually have great photos, and explain simply) Both books showed how it looks for either right handed or left handed people.
I have some work to do, and will practice on plain yarn until I feel ready to try the next things. The other part is learning all the terminology and abbreviations.
Books:
- Crochet for Dummies by Karen Manthey (2004 LP out of print)
- Easy Crochet for Kids by Claire Montgomerie
- Woobles Crochet Amigurumi For Every Occasion by Justine Tiu
- Crochet Monsters by Megan Lapp
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