Advanced Crochet Stitches
Advanced crochet stitches always look impressive, and with a little bit of patience and a lot of practice they are an amazing way to produce a crochet project that will be the envy of any of your crafty friends.
What Is Advanced?
There are a variety of stitches described as being more technical or needing a higher experience level, and you’ll find that everyone’s list is a little different. That’s because we all find varying aspects of crochet challenging!
For the purpose of this list, I’m choosing the stitches that I found needed the most concentration to learn, or that require you to use a combination of more beginner skills.
Am I Ready?
I cannot state enough how much crocheting skills vary from person to person. However, there are good rules of thumb for progressing in crochet that I’ve put together over the years.
Have you completed at least two patterns that were labelled as intermediate?
Crochet pattern designers, myself included, tend to label patterns as a particular level to give crocheters an idea of how easily they will progress through them. If you’ve confidently handled a few intermediate patterns that’s a good sign you are ready to stretch your abilities.
When you read the pattern, did it make sense?
Advanced stitches are often comprised of several beginner or intermediate techniques and terms. If they were all familiar to you when you read the pattern, that’s a really good sign.
Are you motivated?
This might sound like a bit of an unusual question, but me and everyone I’ve ever taught to crochet, motivation is key. The people who are really enthusiastic about learning the new stitch are the ones that master it, because they are motivated to push through the struggles, try and try again, and to put themselves in an uncomfortable learning situation because they have the drive to achieve it.
I never recommend trying something that is going to push your boundaries when you are not in the mood. There is always another day to try, so if you are a bit under the weather or feeling frustrated about something, just wait. It’s better to get started when you are in the right frame of mind, than make yourself feel like the stitch is beyond you when actually you just weren’t in a good place that day.
Advanced Stitches
Some challenging but beautiful crochet stitches
Improving Your Crochet
You don’t need to be a crochet expert to attempt and even master advanced stitches. The key is to work on one new thing at a time.
So if you’re used to a few beginner stitches, then why not attempt a stitch that combines a few of them together. Or dive into a pattern that has just one new stitch type within it, padded out by terms and techniques that are more familiar to you.
And if you are stuck and have a crocheting buddy, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Or share a picture of your work in a social media group for people to help guide you. Several times friends have sent me pictures of their work in progress woes, and the benefit of experience (making many, many mistakes myself over the years) enables me to help them get past the hump.
Challenging Stitches
Projects to try as you gain crochet confidence
Is Faster Crochet Better?
Speed isn’t everything, especially when it comes to crochet. I tend to crochet very quickly, but when I’m trying something new or learning an unfamiliar stitch I slow it right now.
There is nothing wrong with fast crocheting, but it isn’t a sign of advancement in the technical skills of the craft.
Levelling Up Stitches
GREAT STITCHES TO TRY AS YOU BUILD UP YOUR SKILLS
