When you start a new hobby, there are things that you’d never guess were controversial that you quickly realise are. For crocheters, your hook grip is one of them.

For several years, I just picked up my hook without thinking, and worked with it. And why not? It was going well for me, after all! There wasn’t any stitch I struggled to make, and as time went on I got pretty fast too.

But once I went from hobbyist to designer, and then started publishing my crochet patterns and tutorials online, I quickly learned that there are two ‘official’ ways to hold a crochet hook. And some crocheters have quite strong views on their fellow crafters sticking to those methods.

Knife vs Pencil Grip

When using the pencil grip your thumb and index finger hold onto the hook, one at either side. If the hook has an indent, then they will often focus around this point, but that’s not essential. The middle finger sits nearer to the head of the hook, on the same side as the index finger.

In the knife grip your index finger instead stretches down the hook towards the head, and your middle finger rests bent alongside it.

The Impact of Hook Grip Types

The standard grips vary not just between individuals, but depending on which type of hook you use. Standard narrow wooden, plastic or metal hooks lend themselves more to the knife style of grip, in my experience. However, these days many of us are more comfortable with chunky, ergonomic handles, which are often easier to hold with a pencil grip.

The level of friction on your hook also makes a difference, because it will alter how securely you want to hold your hook. A rougher or more textured grip is less likely to slip out of your fingers, so can be held more gently or potentially with fewer fingers required!

My Grip

I hold my hook with my thumb on one side, and all my other fingers (bar the little one) on the other side. Technically speaking, for me personally it’s a pencil grip, because that’s how I hold my pencils or pens too. Various teachers tried to train me out of it with no success, and honestly it has never caused me any issues there either.

But my method doesn’t tally with the textbook two grips, and in much the same way as I felt self conscious about writing at school because it drew attention, I also still to this day feel a bit exposed when I share videos which unavoidably show my unusual multi-fingered hook grip. But I shouldn’t!

The post How I Hold My Crochet Hook and Why It Doesn’t Matter appeared first on Lucy Kate Crochet.

When I began to crochet my own plushies, I often found that they gently nodded forward, either over time or immediately after I made them. And the reason basically always boils down to angles, weight, and, at the end of the day, our eternal foe, gravity.

But there is no reason to sadly accept floppy heads on your amigurumi, because I’m going to share several methods that I use to ensure my crochet toys’ heads stay upright and pointing in the direction I want them to.

• Stuffing, tension and stitch style
• Adding some extra support

Stuffing

New crocheters often struggle to fill their toys with the right amount of stuffing. If you overfill, it can make your amigurumi look distorted (I still have a couple of my earliest toys where you can see the stuffing making its escape out of badly stretched stitches!). But if you under fill, it can lose its structure and ability to retain the posture you’ve created, regardless of other factors.

This is why I always recommend you check your filling first, before going to more complex measures to resolve the issue. Sometimes I find that just pushing a little more wadding into the neck space can help your toy go from dozing off to fully alert.

Tension and Stitch Style

Everyone has a different natural tension. Mine is quite tight, and has been since my first few months in this hobby. But some people’s tension is much looser, and this can result in stitches that are a little more open and therefore less rigid.

A good way to check your tension is to make a sampler up of a 2D item, like a garment, and check the stitch count in comparison with the pattern. If you fit fewer stitches into an inch than they do, your tension is looser. You can try tightening your tension by holding your yarn more firmly in your non-dominant hand, and it can sometimes help to hold your yarn hand closer to your hook.

Yarning under instead of over can also create tighter stitches, but there is a lot of personal preference to this one. I’m a yarn over person, and always will be regardless of the pattern! Which is why, in the case of super floppy heads, I go with adding in some extra support.

Felt

Felt is easily available from craft stores, simple to snip to size and roll up. I recommend taking a section of felt that will stretch from the top of the head to half way into the body piece.

Foam

You can do the same thing with foam, and I actually prefer this because I find it more supportive, and just as easy to curl up and into shape. It’s also a bit easier to cut with scissors too. As with the felt, make sure it goes well into each piece to give maximum support, and ideally it should be as wide as the diameter of the neck section when tightly rolled.

Choose a color of foam or felt that is as similar to the yarn in that section as possible, just in case it shows if any of the stitches gape over time.

Packing Peanuts

You can achieve the same impact with a packing peanut too, but the likelihood of getting one the exact size you need is slim. And if you use multiples, I find they aren’t long enough to stay in place as well. Also, watch out for eco packing peanuts – they dissolve when wet! You don’t want to accidentally insert one into your toy!

Pipe Cleaners

I’ve saved the best to last. I love using pipe cleaners for support, provided the toy is not too large. The reason I am such a fan of them for this use, is that they are sturdy and directional. That means if you want to point the head off at an angle, lift the next, or indeed add a trunk, they will bend wherever you want them too and hold the position really well. I’ve put them to great use in my scorpion and tarantula patterns for leg and tail support, and can’t recommend them enough.

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Today I’m going to demystify beginner crochet patterns, so that you can pick up any simple crochet toy pattern and follow it along without any added stress. I’ll cover the basic amigurumi stitches, and how to read different patterns’ terminology, abbreviations and the techniques involved.

If you want to have a hand with literally getting started in terms of casting on and tension, check out this article first.

Magic circles

We begin with a magic circle. This is a way of creating a central point to your crochet sphere that is completely closed. It enables us to put stuffing into toys without it falling out, and it just looks a lot neater than the other options.

Here’s how your magic circle begins:

• Wrap your yarn around your third and fourth fingers twice. Pinch the yarn ends between your thumb and little finger.

• Put your hook through the loops around your fingers, pick up the yarn and pull it through.

• Pick up the yarn and pull it through the loops on the hook.

Starting Your Toy

Your amigurumi pattern will almost always begin with a magic circle, into which you’ll work a set of single crochets. Usually 6 or 8, but it can differ.

The first instruction will be written as:

• ‘Make a magic circle of six stitches’
• Or ‘make a magic’, and then the next instruction will be along the lines of
• ‘Make 6 single crochets’, or ‘6sc’.

Single crochet decreases

Decreasing in the round involves joining two stitches together. Here’s how it’s done:

Hook through the next stitch, yarn over and pull through.

Hook straight through the next stitch, yarn over and pull through.

Yarn over and pull through all the loops on the hook.

This will be written as ‘decrease,’ ‘DEC’, ‘single crochet two together’ or ‘sc2tog’ with a number to denote how many times you’ll need to do it.

Learn by Doing

The best advice I can give you now when starting to crochet amigurumi, is to learn by doing. To fully understand how to make crochet stitches, the best thing you can do is to throw yourself into attempting them. Look at YouTube tutorials, read patterns, ask a friend, but make sure you’ve got some yarn and a hook in your yarn while you’re doing it. And you never know, it might be easier than you expect.

The post Beginner Amigurumi Crochet Stitches and Help Reading Patterns appeared first on Lucy Kate Crochet.

I love a random crochet fact, but there isn’t always an appropriate moment to share it with you. So I’ve created this page with the sole purpose of sharing all of those fun and fascinating pearls of crochet wisdom that have seeped into my brain over the years, in an entirely out of context but hopefully entertaining way.

Let me know in the comments if you think of any I’ve forgotten, and which is your favorite!

In crochet there are often several ways to do the same thing

From color changes to weaving in ends, there isn’t a standard rule book for techniques that we are all following. Lots of people get to the same destination via totally different routes.

There is no wrong way to crochet

If you’re manipulating and knotting yarn with your hook, you’re doing crochet.

Don’t fight with your yarn

If it’s a nasty texture, too tangly, keeps splitting, just stop using it. Worst case scenario, it always makes for great stuffing!

The hook you choose matters

Be picky about which hook you use. A bad or inappropriate hook for you can truly ruin your crocheting experience. Choose one you are comfortable holding and that won’t catch on your yarn as you work.

Hold your hook however you want

There are two semi official ways to hold your hook – the knife or the pencil grip. Both in my opinion not terribly useful or accurate names, given I don’t hold a knife or pencil like either one! But you can hold your own hook however you please, just be careful you aren’t causing yourself avoidable discomfort.

Use your hook however you want

Not everyone picks up the yarn or enters a stitch in the same way. Whether you are an end in first person, or a pick up with the hooked section person, it all has the same results. Different things work for different people.

Count your stitches whenever you remember

Don’t just count in chains or when you know you’ve lost count, do it whenever it occurs to you. Even in a very familiar pattern, and especially when working in rounds.

Anything can be a stitch marker

Although I own numerous stitch markers designed to do the job, I mostly use yarn scraps!

Try new things regularly

Even if you don’t want to, aren’t in the mood or just want to repeatedly do the thing you’re familiar with, I urge you to try something new. Switch out a yarn type, experiment with a different hook or learn a new stitch. It all keeps your interest and expands your knowledge.

Don’t agree to projects you don’t want to take on

We’ve all been there, and the pressure is real. When someone we care about or even want to impress asks us to help them, it’s hard to say no. Give yourself a holding message to pass on, and decide whether it’s really something you want to commit to before you say yes.

Value your work

Appreciate what you’ve done, at every stage. Hard work, skill and time all go into make your projects. And if you decide to sell them, don’t undervalue yourself in monetary terms just to be nice.

Take a break

Schedule days when you don’t crochet, or limit the time you spend. This will serve to save your wrists, shoulders, hands, and possibly mental health too.

It’s okay to ask questions

Being brave enough to ask for help is a huge part of the learning experience. And I’d encourage you to ask the same question to different people too, if there is something you are struggling with.

Use multiple sources

Watch a tutorial from a different crocheter if you find a technique confusing. And read as many pattern and stitch books as you can. Immerse yourself.

Complicated isn’t more valid than simple

Every crocheted piece of work matters. Everything you make with your own hands. It isn’t important what anyone else thinks of your creation. It’s all about you!

The post 15 Surprising Crochet Facts and Tips for Beginners appeared first on Lucy Kate Crochet.

I found substituting yarn in crochet patterns a bit intimidating the first few times I did it with someone else’s designs, but it’s always turned out just fine. And now, over a decade into the crochet hobby, I don’t really worry about doing it at all. And that’s because I have a few rules that I follow when making changes, which I’ll share with you today.

So if you don’t have the right yarn at home, or can’t afford to buy the recommended brand – it’s no big deal. And if you don’t like the fiber, or want a different thickness, or even are allergic to the material used, you’ll also be fine swapping in a different yarn entirely. As long as you make sensible choices, and a few tweaks when you do.

DO use a similar yarn if you can

I try to start off by focusing on three main areas – yarn weight, fiber and color. So if my pattern recommends a DK weight, acrylic, pink yarn, that’s what I’ll seek out. But of course, that’s not always possible or practical.

DO use the same yarn weight if you want the same size

The finished size of a crocheted toy, blanket or item of clothing is dictated in a large part by the yarn weight. If you want the outcome of the pattern to be similarly sized to the one you’re following, keep that yarn thickness the same.

DO swap hook sizes if you change yarn weight

It’s tempting to keep the same hook even if you size up or down in yarn weight, because at a basic level it feels like it’ll help keep it consistent, right? Sadly, wrong. Always get your hook to match the yarn, even when following a pattern.

DO check your hook size even if the weight is the same

So variable are hook sizes, that you will find that different brands, fibers or varieties of yarn that are labelled as the same weight will often require slightly different hook measurements. Not all DK yarns need a 3.5mm hook, not all aran yarns need a 5.5mm hook. It ranges more than you might think, so it’s always worth checking.

DO try to use the same fiber

Unless you are subbing out your yarn due to an allergy, try to use the same fiber as is shown in the pattern as this can really influence the texture and elasticity of your finished crocheted item. If you do need to change fiber, away from wool for example, then try to find something that feels quite like it and has a similar amount of stretch.

DO color match before you begin

At the start of each project I lay out my yarns together, in their skeins, on a white sheet or clear table. Then I stare at them and make sure I’m happy with how they look in one place. It sounds a bit over the top, but it genuinely has saved me from some pretty awful color choices in the past.

DO check quantities and your budget

Price doesn’t just go up when you choose a more expensive yarn brand. It can also vary between yarns of the same cost, because the amount that you’ll need varies so much from skein to skein. Two 100g hanks of yarn of the same weight can have quite different yardages, so you’ll need more cakes of one brand than you would of another.

DO make a sample

Whenever you swap yarns, work up a little sample using the stitches you’ll need. Make sure you’re actually happy that it is likely to look and feel how you want it to.

DO check the gauge

The number of stitches per inch for a particular pattern changes based on a few factors. Different humans have varying tension, that’s why gauges exist. But something as simple as switching yarn can have an even bigger impact on the size of the stitches, and therefore how many fit in an inch space. This is particularly important if you’re making clothing to fit.

DO consider doubling up yarn strands

You can use multiple strands of finer yarns, to make up a thicker yarn, if you want the same weight. So say my pattern says use a 5mm hook and aran weight yarn? I could hypothetically use two strands of DK instead of one of aran. However, it’s still important to make up that sample to check you’ve got it right. Because this doesn’t directly translate for all types of yarn.

DON’T assume it will look the same

It never ceases to amaze me how different patterns look when tiny changes are made to the yarn. Just small changes, even with a color swap, can make a world of difference.

DON’T change yarn thickness if you want the same drape

This is a big one for substituting yarn in crochet clothes or wall hanging patterns, anything that dangles! To keep the crocheted product hanging in just the same way as your pattern shows, stick to that same thickness and fiber of yarn.

DON’T mix fibers and weights where they weren’t mixed in the pattern

Unless you like a bumpy, often misshapen look, mixing yarn weights in a pattern designed to use skeins of the same weight is never a good idea.

DON’T be afraid to experiment

All that being said… sometimes it’s great to throw caution to the wind and see what you come up with. I love making bold and different yarn choices, so give yarn substituting a go and see what you can create.

The post Tips for Substituting Yarn in a Crochet Pattern appeared first on Lucy Kate Crochet.

Blankets are the first thing that a lot of people try to crochet. Whether it’s creating granny squares or working up some rows to practice your new craft, blankets are a lot of people’s crochet origin story.

Today I’ll share my top do’s and don’ts to help you get to grips with crocheting blankets, and hopefully avoid several of the mistakes I’ve made over the past decade in the hobby.

• The Do’s
• The Don’ts

DO These Things When You Are Crocheting Blankets

Let’s start with the more positive angle. Here are some things to remember!

DO use a bigger hook size for the starting chain

If your blanket begins with a starting chain, size your hook up by .5 to 1mm. Tensioning on chains is often tight, and it can pull one end of the blanket in tighter than the rest of the working rows. Sizing up a little solves this issue before you’ve even begun.

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Magic Circle Step By Step

To help you to work along with the video, here are my illustrated written instructions.

I’ll assume you’re right handed, but for left handed crocheters simply reverse the hand used

1. Turn your left hand palm up, spreading out your first and little fingers, but keeping your second and third fingers together.

2. Lay a long tail of yarn over the top of your left hand past your first finger, around the back of the hand and wrap it twice over the joined third and fourth fingers.

3. Pinch the yarn end and tail end together with your left thumb and little finger.

4. Taking your hook in your right hand, insert the hook through the two loops over those fingers. Hook up the yarn and pull it through the loops.

5. Hook up the yarn again, and pull it through the loop on your hook.

6. Now single crochet the number of stitches described by the pattern into the ring. Using the ring in the same way you would work a single crochet into a chain or crocheted stitch.

7. You’re now ready to tighten the ring. Turning the stitches you’ve just made to face downwards, take the inner ring of the loops and gently pull, pinching the bottom of those stitches with your right thumb and third finger.

8. Now gently pull the tail end of the yarn to close the ring. And you’re done!

Chaining A Crochet Circle

For that that don’t mind a gap in their starting circle, you can make a version of this using a chain. It’s most commonly found in amigurumi when using chenille yarn, which can get stuck if you try to use a traditional magic loop methodology.

Simply crochet a short chain and slip stitch it together.

The downside is that you can’t tighten up your circle after it’s complete.

This means that you need to pick the number of stitches in the circle which will give an appropriate size for your project.

In some cases you might like to consider using a smaller hook for the central circle than you do for the rest of the piece.

The lack of tightening is an important factor though, and for this reason I would not recommend starting with a chain for making a project that needs stuffing for example. Toys with little holes on the tops of their heads always look slightly odd, and might leak stuffing later on.

Don’t Panic!

Although magic circles can seem a little daunting when you first start out crocheting, you will quickly find that if you practice a few times they are the best method of making a circle for a lot of projects.

Intricate works and toys will be vastly improved by the use of one.

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Learn to Crochet on the Internet?

Learning to crochet online is increasingly popular. You can use YouTube videos, written tutorials or a combination of both. Remember that people’s time, expertise, presentations and patterns are produced at a cost to them, which might be passed onto you depending on where you look.

Youtube Tutorials

Youtube is a fabulous learning resource and a great way to learn to crochet. Not only is it free, but it gives you a level of detail that beginners really require. As long as you pick the right channel, with an instructor who speaks clearly and has a good camera angle and background, you are away.

This is the first tutorial I ever used: How to Crochet a Mouse I had never crocheted before, and my efforts were by no means disastrous. A definite good sign of a quality tutorial.

To pick a crochet tutorial on YouTube that will work for you:

• Listen for a couple of minutes before you try to join in.
• Make sure the instructor speaks clearly and slowly.
• Ensure the background is plain or distinct from the yarn and crochet hook color?
• Look at whether the camera is focussed well.

I have a YouTube channel that i’d love you to check out, but I also highly recommend:

• Elise Rose Crochet
• TL Yarn Crafts
• Bella Coco

These are all big channels, but don’t be put off by someone’s tutorial having fewer views – make the judgement for yourself by taking a minute or so to check it out before you start. Remember, even the big viewing subscriber count channels had to start somewhere!

Where To Begin?

Good crochet YouTube tutorials for beginners are clear and simple, but not dull or too repetitive.

I wouldn’t for example suggest you made a blanket entirely of single crochets for your first piece, because you’ll get bored half way through.

Granny squares are a great crochet starter however, due to the variations. Basic amigurumi, three dimensional crochet toys, are good too. Pick a pattern with no sewing or color changes in the round for your initial project.

Written Crochet Tutorials

Crochet blogs like this one provide you with written crochet tutorials to learn from. My basic stitch guide is the best starting point for new crocheters on this site, with step by step instructions and photographs.

Not all crochet sites are equal, and some are definitely aimed more at established crocheters. Filling their instructions with abbreviations without explanation, and technical terms. These are fabulous for the experts, but can leave beginners feeling stressed and confused. What we want is for you to be relaxed and enthusiastic about carrying on. So, when I say ‘written tutorials’ I am referring here to the crochet tutorials written in full sentences, with explanations and clearly denoted as good for beginners.

You can spot these because they will have lots of pictures, often showing how to carry out the stitches required. Or links back to videos for when you get stuck with certain techniques. Once you are at home with tutorials written in clear English, you can start to deliberately look for some that also give abbreviations along with the descriptions.

Looking at them before you actually need to understand them will help to familiarise you with the concept, so that when you move on to the next stage of reading them you will feel more confident in their use.

Crochet Patterns

Beginner crochet patterns can be found online on blogs like this, or in printed pattern books. Learning to crochet from either one has it’s pros and cons.

Online patterns can be harder to follow on screen, you can’t annotate them and are more likely to misplace the page.

Written pattern books can be marked as you, but they aren’t updated so if there are mistakes you’ll likely never know and that can cause confusion.

I use both now, but as a beginner I split my time between the two. And preferred pattern books and online crochet patterns that used full terminology and lots of photographs.

Remember that some patterns will tell you what the abbreviation stands for, but not what that actually means. Which can cause problems especially for instructions that are different depending upon whether the author is using American or English terminology.

Look for instructions that give regular photos showing what your work should look like as the pattern continues, as well as giving a stitch count for each row.

Hands down some of the best things I have ever made have been from books – namely Edward’s Menagerie and Boho Crochet. These both have clear instructions for techniques and lovely photographs.

Both of these books are great for beginners, and Boho crochet has a good variety of pieces for the keen starter and more advanced practitioner.

I would however say that if you get just one of these as a beginner, go with Edward’s Menagerie. I love the way she builds up the skillset with each subsequent creature. And watch out for amusing the descriptions above each one.

Make Your Own Crochet Patterns

When you are happy and confident following patterns, a whole wide world is opened up to you. And you could happily stay in that world indefinitely, if that’s your thing.

But some of us decide to take things a step in a different direction and start to create patterns ourselves.

When you have even a basic knowledge of crochet stitches, you have the early building blocks of doing it your own way. From something as simple as switching yarn types or patterns, to working your way through to varying other people’s and finally making something brand new and all your own design.

Beginners to Crochet

When learning a new skill, the old sayings ring eternally true. In order to advance to the top of the pyramid, you need a solid and ample foundation.

I hope that this rather extensive essay has helped clear up for you the steps that I think you might enjoy taking to reach this point. Not just successfully, but in a way that means you can enjoy the journey. And hopefully avoid some common crochet mistakes too!

And don’t forget – your learning is never done. Mine certainly isn’t! There are still plenty of techniques I fumble a bit with, and stitches that fox me.

The beauty of this open information world is, I can simply go back to the start again for each new thing. Watching youtube tutorials or checking out detailed photographically enhanced descriptions as each new thing occurs.

I look forward to learning more together soon, and in the meantime you might find some of your remaining questions answered here:

• Is crocheting a very expensive hobby?
• Are stitches better done too tight or too loose?
• Does learning to crochet take ages?
• Why is my crochet attempt curling up?
• Do some stitches use less yarn than others?
• Why does my blanket lean to one side?

Happy Crocheting,

Lucy Kate x

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