Beginner Crochet Tips

I am going to share with you some beginner crochet tips because looking back to when I was beginning to crochet, there are so many things I wish I would have known before starting my first crochet project.

Every crochet tutorial I looked at and every book I read used medium sized yarn and a size H/5mm hook. They instructed you to start out by chaining a small number of chains and then several rows of single crochets followed by rows of double crochets and so on. You spend hours on this small rectangle piece of yarn stitches that you could do nothing with. I tried all that, years earlier and it just didn’t work for me. I wanted a yarn that I could see and hold onto. I wanted to have something to show for my time and work. So, I decided not to follow the rules. I tried something different and it worked.

My first crochet project was a baby blanket. I used super bulky sized yarn (Bernat Baby Blanket) and a size N/10mm crochet hook. The yarn label suggested hook size is L/8mm, but I was a rebel!

For me, the best way to learn is to just jump in and do it, so this is why I chose a baby blanket as my first crochet project. Yes, I made mistakes but I learned from them. I had a goal and that was to make a baby blanket and that goal gave me the determination to not give up.

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One of the very first things I learned was to count my stitches. I did good counting stitches for the first few rows, then I felt sure of myself and stopped. Well, let me tell you when I finally finished the blanket it wasn’t the shape it was supposed to be. It wasn’t a rectangle or square shaped. It was a hot mess, the sides were all wavy. By not counting my stitches, I was either adding or dropping stitches for some of the rows. It was so bad, that I ripped it all apart. Every. Single. Stitch. I put all of the loose yarn into a big purse and I carried it around like that for weeks while I crocheted the blanket again. I made sure to count my stitches and this time around my blanket ended up with straight edges. I still remember the joy I felt when I finished the baby blanket.

Just knowing a few tips before you start crocheting can make a big difference. So, I want to share with you the 10 tips I wish I had known before starting my first crochet project.

Be careful not to have your foundation or starting chain stitches too tight. You are going to be going back into those stitches so make them a little loose. If you find that your stitches are too tight for your foundation chain, you can always go up a hook size for the foundation chain.
Be sure to count the stitches of your starting chain. You can always chain 10 then place a stitch marker or safety pin in the 10th chain. Then, chain 10 more and repeat. This will make counting your stitches easier because you can count by tens.
You always want your working yarn to be on the front of your hook. This means when you pull your hook, the yarn that moves should be the yarn in the front of your hook and not the yarn behind your hook. This plays a major role in your tension and having consistent stitches.
It’s not going to be perfect, but it will be loved. (I gifted my first baby blanket to a friend that was pregnant she was so proud of it. Her little girl still uses it to this day.) When you first start your stitches, they won’t be consistent. This comes with time and lots of practice. You are still learning how to hold your yarn and crochet hook in a way that is comfortable and all that plays a major role in having consistent stitches.
Try to keep your shoulders relaxed. Take breaks and stretch after 30 minutes. I would sit for hours crocheting and then look up to say something to my husband and my jaw would be hurting so badly. I was clenching my jaw in concentration and didn’t even realize it. I would joke with people that I was learning to crochet and the muscles that hurt the most were my jaw muscles – I got a lot of strange looks!
Pull from the center of the skein of yarn. If you dig in the hole on the end of the skein of yarn you will find a tail of yarn or a little bundle of yarn that you can pull out to find the tail end. Pulling yarn from the inside of the skein is much easier than pulling from the outside. Your skein won’t be flipping and flopping around if you pull from the inside like it will if you pull from the outside. The flipping and flopping cause your yarn to knot up or catch on things.
Don’t buy cheap yarn. It’s like buying cheap toilet paper. It’s rough and you wish you would have spent a little more money and got the softer stuff.
Get a comfortable crochet hook. If you are going the bulky yarn route as I did, try using a Clover Amour Crochet Hook. It’s less than $7 on Amazon. It has an easy grip handle and will keep your hand from cramping up. It’s lightweight and easy to hold. I also recommend the Susan Bates Bamboo handle crochet hooks. These are metal hooks and are a little heavier but they are easy to hold.
Don’t use dark yarn like black or navy blue. It is way too hard to see!
Whenever you place your first stitch in your row. Place a stitch marker or safety pin in that stitch. Do the same thing in the last stitch of the row. So when you chain and turn your work you will know where to put your next stitch – in the stitch with the marker. The same thing applies when you get to the end of the row, place a stitch marker in your last stitch too. This will help you to learn where to start and stop your rows. Placing a stitch in the first stitch in the row and in the last stitch of the row will also give you straight edges every time.

Sometimes we get so bogged down and overwhelmed with all the details we become too intimidated to even start! I hope this relaxed and less technical approach helps you.

Do you have any crochet tips that you would like to share? What is something you wish you would have known when you first started crocheting? I would love to hear from you, feel free to comment below.