Let’s get the yarn ball rolling!
How long have you been a hooker?
What got you interested in the craft?
What are you really good at?
What is one thing you’d like to learn?
I’ve been crocheting on and off almost all my life, as a little kid I’d sit and watch my mother crochet.
Mom would make beautiful afghans for family and friends, so that inspired me to want to do it too when I was 10-11 years old, so I asked her to teach me how, that then made for a funny story: my mom had me stand beside her and she said to do exactly as she did, then she put a crochet hook in my hand, and then indicated how to hold the yarn in my other hand, but I just couldn’t get it right for some reason, it was awkward as hell, seemed like 20 to 30 minutes in and I’m still struggling to get the hook right in one hand and the yarn held correctly in the other, and I’m super concentrating because I really-really want to learn this, that’s when she says to wait a minute, then she bursts out laughing, and then gasps out loud: “I forgot! You’re left handed!” Me being a kid even I didn’t think to question any of it, heh!
I’m, I feel, really good at looking at a piece and figuring out the stitch if it’s not too obscure, and also how to adapt something without a pattern to then make on my own. And I’m patient so don’t mind ripping the hell out of something a hundred thousand times if that’s what it takes.
Eventually I may dive into tapestry crocheting. Maybe but IDK? Right now, I have so so so much stuff to finish doing, and also making for others, but I’m content with all that.
@Whitehorse @cicatrized Oh bless! Haha I can just picture the moment she realised what was wrong.
My husband is left-handed too but when I taught him, we decided to try him the right-handed way round first just in case he could manage that since it would make it easier for him to follow other tutorials. Thankfully it worked out fine!
Do you still crochet exclusively left-handed or did you find you became more ambidextrous over time?
Yeah, I’m left-handed when I crochet, what my mom did next was put the hook in my left hand and arranged the yarn in my right hand and then faced me/stood directly in front of me, and said do what I do and it finally all made sense to my brain and hands.
Years of stuff like that growing up left-handed in a predominantly right-handed world though, has enabled me to do certain things with my right hand being the dominant one: I’m proficient with using my right hand with scissors because the kindergarten gestapo aka older student teacher’s helpers wouldn’t hear it when I’d sadly state “This feels funny.” when they’d be tasked with going around the room during arts & crafts time passing out the art supplies and scissors.
I also predominantly use a mouse in my right hand because 20+ years ago I asked a close relative to teach me how to use his computer and like with my mom, I trusted him to know what he was doing so I didn’t question it, also his setup of mousepad was to the far right of his pc monitor, and his mouse was wired/plugged in on that side, so I just assumed it must have to all be this way.
So, he quickly goes “Here hold this.” then shoved the mouse into my right hand, and tells me to rub that along the mousepad and indicates on the monitor how that moves the cursor, and I’m so caught up in doing what he’s saying, etc, that I never questioned anything, I’m just trying hard to do what I was being told. He walks off to do something leaving me in the room practicing moving the mouse, he comes back 20-30 minutes later and I’m not doing so well, so out of curiosity I switch hands just as he comes back in, so he sees I switched hands, then he quickly leans over me and snatches the mouse out of my left hand and then lightly taps me with it on top of my head, like he’s disciplining an impertinent child, and exclaims: “That’s not what I showed you, you can’t use a mouse like that, your stretching the cord!” Then I look up and glare at him for a full minute, then burst out laughing, because that’s finally when I remember the time with my mom and the crochet lesson. I explained I’m left-handed to him, and we laugh, he then said he’d arrange the mouse for me but I told him not to worry about it, I’d just kept messing around with until it felt familiar, and now I use a mouse in my right hand.
Then there’s just some things left-handed people have no choice in the matter doing, like driving a car with the console shifting manual on the right, I learned to drive stick shift though.
And now, from necessity, trail and error, and good’ol perseverance, when I crochet, I don’t need a pattern for left-handed people, and I also understand what to do when I watch a YouTube video on how to crochet things even when they aren’t made for left-handed people.
I found a crochet DIY set and I wanted to make it for my little sister… it was supposed to be a pig, turned out to be an eldritch monstrosity 😂 but I had so much fun figuring out how it worked, it kinda stuck around and now I’ve been crocheting for at least 5 years :) amigurimis will always have a special place in my heart. Also, shout out to youtube tutorials haha!
I skimmed some of the posts and saw ADHD mentioned a few times - damn, we’re crocheting ourselves a new stereotype. 😝
I have a friend who crochets a lot, and while we were at her house, she’d be working on a project of some kind. Eventually I got curious, so she handed me an old ball of yarn and showed me the double-stitch. That’s still the only one I know. I’ve made several blankets using just that one over and over and over.
I’ve learned how to change colours okay, so I can make patterns by strategically swapping to different yarn, but if I really want a certain pattern, I just crochet over the surface with another round of that double-stitch. It’s like a 3D thing. :D
And yes, it does keep my hands busy!
I’ve been crocheting for around 10 years now.
I started when I worked in a call center. I needed something to do with my hands and something to focus on (I have ADHD). When I was on a frustrated call, I’d crochet faster.
I’ve gotten pretty good at blankets and c2c designs. I’d like to learn more about mosaic and Tunisian. I’ve tried a bit of both and found it to be quite difficult.
I actually restarted with Tunisian at one point. It’s plastic, achieves 3D shaping, in a different way than standard crochet.
The fabric it creates is quite heavy, which it was used for throws and blankets in the Victorian era. You can however crochet in pleats and tucks. This can be great for shaping a sweater-jacket or a baby’s bunting bag.
My mom taught me when I was 8 or so. I could only crochet rectangles for the LONGEST time, but I finally figured out how to read patterns! I would like to create my own patterns at some point, but the ADHD is strong lol
Crochet has been the best thing for my ADHD. Giving my hands something to do why I listen to a lecture? Heck yeah
I’ve been a hooker since 2014, when my sister announced she was pregnant with her first and asked me to be the godmother of her child. NGL I was terrified. I don’t like kids. But I love my sister and I recognised the honour she was giving me. So I threw myself into the art of making amigurumi plushies, something to show my affection and dedication to being a good godmother for my niece.
I years later I love my niece, and still crochet for her.
I’ve never done crochet before, but I enjoy cross stitching and knitting.
I’ve always been interested in crochet, but haven’t tried it yet. I was wondering how difficult it is to manage tension in crochet (do you even have to lol)?
Sadly the only thing I can really recommend for tension in crochet is “practise”. Which I know is not a satisfying answer. Generally among the people I’ve taught to do it though, it seems like when you feel like you’re holding the yarn loosely enough already as a beginner you should loosen up even more. If it feels like everything is “too loose”, that’s probably about right!
Also just wanted to mention we have a brand new cross stitch community ([email protected]) now too that needs some content, and I for one would love to see what you’ve been stitching :D
Yeah fair enough.
Awesome to see there’s a cross stitch community! Tbh I just got started and the first pattern I got is kind of mediocre. I might post the next thing I do though!
Pfft, post ALL THE THINGS! Lemmy needs you lol.
That’s true! I guess I better make some progress so I can post my disfigured lemons lol
Disfigured lemons?! Well now I’m even more excited 😄
Tension can be a tricky thing to master. This is why a lot of patterns will include a guage to indicate how big a certain number of stitches should be.
I tend to wrap the yarn throughy fingers on my off hand to help keepy tension consistent. I’m sure there are other tricks you could try too. Maybe someone else will have a suggestion?
Wrapping around the the fingers and developing the ratcheting movement with your hand to move the yarn along seems to be the way to develop this.
Practice helps a lot.
I think it’s easier to start with a yarn that has a bit of natural flex.
Cotton is often recommended because it produces nice clean crochet stitches but it’s unforgiving in terms of tension. Fine if you’re wanting to start off with dishcloths in handicrafter yarn, but otherwise not a great thing for novices.
Oh that’s really useful. I didn’t know that!
Thanks for the tip. I think I’ll just have to get started and give it a good old try.
I’ve been crocheting on and off for 2.5 years now. I tend to go through periods of crocheting all day every day and then switch to a total lack of interest for months. I started when my husband and I were super poor and looking for hobbies to do together. We got two balls of yarn, a cheap set of knitting needles and two crochet hooks. We tried knitting first and didn’t like it. We switched to crochet and it clicked for me. Now I love making amigurumi as I can’t stand making bigger items where I have to count stitches. I’m starting to freehand things and am hoping to maybe learn to make patterns myself.
I gotta get that. I tried knitting first and spent months being frustrated that I could get anything to look how I intended. Tried crochet and felt like I had been doing it my whole life.
I’ve been crocheting for about one year now.
I started off when my brain decided that it only wanted crochet after seeing a few videos of people making blankets for reasons beyond me. I used to knit a bit, but could never figure out how to knit in the round. I picked up crocheting in the round pretty fast and that sealed the deal for me.
I’m pretty good at working with thread. I got into a snowflake kick last December after inheriting my great grandmother’s steel hooks. That gave me confidence to get into fillet lace, which has led to my current attempt at making doll clothes. I find that lighter yarn weights are way easier on my wrists as well (which means that I’m putting off working on my worsted weight temperature blanket even more…). But messing around with lace has made me very comfortable with reading charts.
I want to learn more about garment construction. The doll clothes are helping me a bit with that, but turning shapes that are not circles and squares into wearables hasn’t clicked yet.
ive been a proud hooker for about 3 or 4 years now i think. I am a person of hobbies. Hobbies are literally my life. without hobbies, life isnt worth living imo. I am curious about almost everything, and sometimes this obsessive phase of exploring a new hobby is triggered within me. One day, knitting got me really curious, so i tried it. managed to get the basics, made a scarf and some rectangles, but was irked by the fact that you cant knit as freely as i wanted, it was always row for row…and fixing mistakes was sooo hard!
then i somehow stumbled upon crochet, and instantly fell in love.being able to crochet in any direction, change colours on the fly…freestyle to my hearts content, it was GLORIOUS. I am a really slow learner though, and it took me foreeeever to ‘get’ how to crochet. i thought i would never be able to craft amigurumi, my favourite discipline within crochet. Counting stitches sounded too tedious!! i stayed with rectangular pieces for a while, basic granny swuares ( made a granny square with a 1.5meter diameter for my mum for xmas), then studied how to crochet in the round, figuring out stich markers and whatnot.
Nowadays i can proudly say im an advanced level crocheter, and my favourite thing to do is amigurumi! i can freestyle but prefer to follow patterns, and my craziest project was a 40cm big doll for my mums 52nd birthday, with a copper wire skeleton inside to make it posable and everything! The pattern is from CAROcreated on etsy, and instead of a cello i made a violin, since my mum used to play the violin in music school!!
I only just picked up crochet in the last few months but honestly it’s a team sport in my family lol, my mom and grandma both are crochet demons. I’ve been mostly doing small amigurumis and a cardigan a la granny squares.
I really want to start incorporating more crochet into interactive/installation art - right now I’m working on making excessive amounts of leaves, flowers, and greenery to attach to a vine made from battery powered string lights.
That sounds fantastic! We are gonna need pics of all this stuff lol 😆
I’m not doing it yet. Just started knitting in December of last year, and am looking to get into crochet as well. I own a pack of cheap hooks and now it’s just a matter of figuring out how it works.
Those who do both, which one aggravates carpal tunnel worse? I’m scared crochet will hurt more because one wrist is doing a lot, but I don’t know. Also, fellow Canadians, where can I get decently priced wool yarn? Do you even use wool yarn in crochet?!?
I’m just trying to get back into crochet and knitting. I used to do a lot of both before we had kids, but found it just didn’t work when they were small.
To avoid repetitive stress injuries, I alternate between knitting and crochet. They seem to use different parts of my brain.
Sometimes I feel my brain just wants one, sometimes the other. I also try to have a mix of finicky projects that take a lot of counting or with fine yarn and some with larger hooks and needles.
I find that cheap hooks are more stressful on my body. In the end, I have purchased high quality stainless steel hooks one by one over time as I need them.
As for wool in Canada, better prices are usually found at places carrying discontinued lines and colours. Wool-Tyme in Ottawa sells a lot online. If you’re visiting the region, the store has a large back area where they clear discontinued yarn. See https://wool-tyme.com/collections/sale
Thanks for all your help! Unfortunately I’m not near Ottawa and don’t go there too often. I’ll check out what my local yarn store has on sale. Unfortunately the online retailers don’t seem to have the best deals (or maybe that’s just the way I feel).
My hooks are mid quality, I think? I’ll upgrade to something better after I get a bit more experience under my belt. I’ve been known to orphan hobbies so I don’t want to drop too much cash up front.
I find crochet intimidating. It’s funny because I think most people feel that way about knitting?
Just dropping in again to add that someone has created a yarn exchange community [email protected].
I don’t know how people would sort out selling and exchanging yarn, but there it is.
I knitted for many years before I was willing to seriously attempt crochet.
My grandmother taught me both, but knitting was something my mum and others could help me with later and crochet was not.
It was actually when I was really sick and need to lay up in bed for a time that I decided to give it a try. I didn’t want to wreck my knitting or needlework projects.
I sent my spouse out on a quest for some yarn, a hook and a ‘how to’ book.
I really found having a decent hook reduced my frustration. Buying one good quality one with a steel head and plastic handle in the size you need for a first project will really help.
Most of the less expensive ones aren’t smooth enough at the tip where you push into the work and some of them are too rounded. I find most of the American brands really bad. And you’ll want the metric sized ones anyway so you can have more precision. Don’t buy a whole set until you know what works for you ergonomically in terms of handles.
I have some wrist issues from an old injury and honestly I find that what aggravates mine the most is just doing any one particular thing too repetitively. So I flit around between crochet, knitting and cross stitch for the variety of movement.
There are things you can do crochet-wise though, for example you’ll mostly see people flicking the wrist of their hand that holds the hook, but if mine is playing up I’ll wedge my elbow against something and keep that wrist as still as possible and just do all the movement with my other hand.
p.s. yes you can definitely use wool yarn but I’m not Canadian so can’t help with the other part of that 😄
Thanks for the help! I see a lot of crochet people using cotton and synthetic yarns, maybe because the stitch has different flexibility than knit? I already adapted my knitting to continental which helps a lot, so I may just look into methods that adapt.
Cotton and acrylic are great for things like amigurumi because you get better stitch definition, so they do tend to be popular. Still though the flexibility makes a difference too like you say, I knitted a top from linen yarn once and it just ruined my wrist.
Thanks for all the help! I might just pick up a couple of cheap cotton yarns somewhere to practice crochet. Can’t stand the texture of acrylic, otherwise I’d hit up the dollar store. Still hunting for decent priced wool, we’ll see!
I’ve been crocheting for about 30 years now, but that’s only because my aunt got me into it at a young age. I’ve done blankets, clothing, stuffed animals, pillow covers etc. I’d say I’m pretty good at it by now.
My favorite project so far is a matching blanket/pillow set done in Tunisian and standard crochet with a shell stitch.
I’m excited that there’s a community here and I’m happy to join.
I started crochet around 7 years ago.
My girlfriend used to crochet bears for her kids. It looked like such a fun way to make a gift so I started watching YouTube videos on how to crochet. Still can’t make a bear but I am great at blankets haha
I find it surprisingly easy to follow complex patterns. Makes it easy to stay interested when each row is changing.
I would love to learn how to do a tapestry. I don’t remember what the stitch is called but I saw some posts on Reddit where people made these beautiful portraits with yarn.
I think it must be at least 60 years now since I first started crocheting. I’ve had long periods when I didn’t crochet but once I found Ravelry I was hooked again.
I was interested in a lot of stuff when I was a kid, including sewing, drawing, spirograph, and crochet. Crochet seems to have stuck around. I was taught by a book, my Mum, my Nan, and an old lady my Mum knew. It took a while for it to stick.
I make great shawls, and much less good jackets, so I mostly make shawls. Also some hats and fingerless gloves.
The one thing I’d really like to be better at is seaming; mostly for knitting but for crochet too.
