I was first taught to crochet by my good friend Claire, of Pinky and Boo fame, about a year and a half ago. I’d seen her create lots of beautiful blankets, flowers and other lovely items in such an effortless way that I wanted her to show me how to do it too.
I guess I could have picked up just about any beginners’ crochet book and had a go at teaching myself but convinced that I don’t learn properly that way I wanted a master to show me. I gave Claire a few headaches at first I’m sure because I just wasn’t ‘getting it’ but after lots of false starts it finally sunk in. The stitch I wanted her to show me was the ripple stitch (or the wibbly wobbly stitch which I named it in my ignorance) because its just so beautiful to see when a gorgeous combination of colours are put together.
I was so impressed with myself at learning the ripple stitch (and treble stitch which it uses) that until a week ago I didn’t bother to learn anything else. Plus I just love that stitch, I was literally hooked (ooh sorry, bad pun)! The undulating pattern, just like gentle water, is so relaxing and rewarding as you add more and more waves to the fabric you’ve created.
Here’s a little clutch bag that I made in gold, orange, teal and green.
So on Boxing Day, my first day of isolation with this evil flu, I took my Happy Hookers crochet book (given to me by the lovely Anna-Lisa), a great big ball of orange yarn which I found on a car boot sale at the seaside, my crochet hooks and chocolate rice crispy treats (cheers David!) and settled on my bed. Since I’d not ventured any further from making straightforward rectangles with treble stitch I thought I’d better go back to basics and start from the very beginning.
As I’ve said before, I’m awful at following instructions because I’m just too impatient but that had to stop. Going through each step of the book’s guide was like opening new door after new door, learning which types of yarn suit different items to make, why gauge is important and how to do that first difficult row without having a messy loopy finish – by going through the ‘bum’ of the ‘V’ of course! Then there were the stitches, ‘Single Crochet’, ‘Double Crochet’, ‘Half Treble’, ‘Treble’, ‘Double Treble’ and ‘Treble Treble’ and their confusingly similar yet different American comparatives. At the end of the first two sections of the book it said “… you’ve learned all the basic stitches you’ll ever need to know in crochet” – Wow! the world is my oyster!
The next revelation was pattern reading. The way crochet patterns are written is brilliant, so efficient and concise. Does this mean I can actually follow a pattern and make something other than a rectangle? Well I have actually started making something from a pattern in the Happy Hookers book but its a work in progress that I’ll show when it’s finished.
Resources for learning crochet
If you’re a beginner like me and wondering what on earth I’m talking about then scoot over to the ‘Resources‘ page where I’ve given details of the Happy Hookers book and links to a couple of crochet tutorial videos.
Does crochet have style?
This is something you might be wondering. What on earth can you make from crochet that you would actually want to wear? My (misinformed) idea of crochet and crocheted items used to be that all you could make were shapeless cardigans, doilies and granny square tank tops but I was so wrong. Crochet makes great accessories such as hats, purses and bags and since I’m a bagaholic having too many won’t be a problem. If you’re very clever you can make beautiful tops, jackets and shawls in crochet too but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
If you don’t believe me that crochet has style then listen to Vogue’s experts talking about crochet collections for 2009!
well,well,well, at last :-) welcome to the addictive world of blogging! great start, love the shoes ! I figure that I may be able to crochet if I hold the hook still and do all the work with my left hand, will try tomorrow and let you know, not sure if I will be up to ripple stitch though.
Hi Hon
The ripple looks fab, but it’s exciting to move into uncharted (or rather, patterned) territory with new stitches and clocks. Once you have a treble mastered, all the stitches are kinda similar. And you weren’t a nightmare to teach. Hope that you’re feeling better, see you soon xx
Hi: My problem is keeping my crocheted granny sq. blanket
square. It’s continuous as I do many for charity. I don’t know why but it looks crooked. The first few rows are okay.
No one can tell me & although it isn’t terribly important still it bothers me. I thought maybe it was the colors, or maybe the patterns. I tried mixing the number of rows. Then thought maybe more of the main color but just nothing happens.
Maybe you have a different pattern that wouldn’t depend on being square. I like it easy and quick and the granny is great and I like doingi t in rounds. I would really, really appreciate your help or lf you know anyone with this problem & solved it.
Many thanks. Please email me as I don’t get into the forums.
Dorothy
Hi Dorothy, I don’t see a problem with crooked granny squares, I bet they look lovely.
However, I learned from the ‘Stitch N Bitch’ Happy Hookers crochet book which is a really simple pattern and does seem to produce even squares. The pattern starts with 4 chains (I usually do 5 or 6 though to make the middle hole bigger) and then four sets of 3 trebles (in UK stitches) with 2 chains at each corner and then increase the trebles in rounds as your square gets bigger. I would recommend the Happy Hookers book, the instructions are really clear – you can find a link to it on my resources page.
Hope that helps Dorothy! Let us know how you get on :)