LC's Crochet Lab

Category: Crochetsics Basics

  • Chains – Left Handed

    Chains – Left Handed

    In this post, we’ll cover how to hold your yarn, as well as how to make the base for a lot of crochet projects: the chain stitch. If you prefer a video tutorial, check that out here and if you’re right handed, check out that tutorial here.

    First things first, you’ll need to make a slip knot and put the loop on your hook.

    Making a slip knot

    Hold your yarn tail in your right hand, and your working end, which is the end connected to your yarn ball, in your left hand.

    Now, twist your working yarn over the top of your tail. The ends of the yarn tail and working yarn should still be in the same places, with your tail lying to your right and your working yarn to your left.

    Now, grab the end of your working yarn through the loop you’ve created. While holding that loop, close the slip knot by pulling on the yarn tail.

    You should now have a slip knot! If you pull on the working yarn you should begin to shrink the loop of your slip knot. Pull on the working yarn to close the loop around your hook.

    Holding your yarn and hook

    Everyone holds their yarn differently. Personally, I’d suggest having two points of contact with your yarn on your non-dominant hand. Here’s what that means for me:

    You can see that it loops around my fingers. There’s one point of contact between my pinkie and ring finger, and once over my index finger. I feel like this allows me to control the amount of yarn coming through on that first point of contact, and control the tension of the individual stitch on the second. Search around and see how other people hold their yarn too, because you might hate this.

    In terms of holding your hook, there’s knife and pencil grip

    Knife Grip
    Pencil Grip

    I think most people tend to use knife grip, but again it’s up to you and what you feel comfortable with.

    Stitch instructions

    The shorthand for chains in a written pattern is ch.

    The chart symbol for chains is

    Here’s what a chain looks like:

    Hold your working yarn and yarn tail in your right hand. This allows you to keep tension on your work as well, which helps you pull loops through the ones on your hook. Hold your yarn behind your hook.

    Our first step is to yarn over, putting the yarn over your hook. Then, grab the yarn with your hook. You’re going to be twisting the mouth of the hook down and away from you a little bit here.

    Now, you’re going to start using your hook to pull the yarn through the loop on your hook. Don’t hold your yarn or work too tight here! Try and keep it loose. Also, try and angle the mouth or opening of your hook to be at the knot of your slip knot as you pull it through.

    You’ve just completed your first chain stitch!

    In chains after your first, you want the mouth of your hook to face the v of the loop currently on your hook when you pull the loop through:

    Final appearance

    When you do a bunch of these, they start to make this almost braided or chain like texture. You can see a bunch of nested v shapes in the longer chain.

    Tips/common issues

    Here’s some common issues you may come across:

    Holding your yarn too tight- If you can’t pull your hook through the loop on your hook, you’re probably holding your yarn too tight. Try and hold the yarn just tight enough you don’t lose your grip on it.

    Losing hold of your yarn- This one does take a bit of practice. It may be that you’re holding your yarn a little too lose. Again, try and hold the yarn just tight enough that you don’t lose your grip on it. How tight or loose you hold your yarn is called your tension and it can be pretty tricky to get right, so just keep practicing.

    Catching the hook on the loop when pulling through– When trying to pull your new loop through the one already on your hook, you might be catching the existing loop and struggling to pull the new loop through. Try to make sure the mouth (or opening) of your hook is facing that v of the chain stitch- this means the mouth of your hook isn’t facing a strand of yarn when pulling through.

    Pulling the loop tight- Once you finish your chain stitch, don’t pull the chain tight! We want these chain stitches to be open and loose- you’re going to be working into them later and so you’ll need space for your hook to enter.

    My advice for now is to just go ahead and make a long chain and try to get comfortable with the process. We’ll start with single crochets in the next post!

    Previous: Welcome to Crochetsics Basics!

    Next: Single Crochets – Left Handed

  • Chains – Right Handed

    Chains – Right Handed

    In this post, we’ll cover how to hold your yarn, as well as how to make the base for a lot of crochet projects: the chain stitch. If you prefer a video tutorial, check that out here and if you’re left handed, check out that tutorial here.

    First things first, you’ll need to make a slip knot and put the loop on your hook.

    Making a slip knot

    Hold your yarn tail in your left hand, and your working end, which is the end connected to your yarn ball, in your right hand.

    Now, twist your working yarn over the top of your tail. The ends of the yarn tail and working yarn should still be in the same places, with your tail lying to your left and your working yarn to your right.

    Now, grab the end of your working yarn through the loop you’ve created. While holding that loop, close the slip knot by pulling on the yarn tail.

    You should now have a slip knot! If you pull on the working yarn you should begin to shrink the loop of your slip knot. Pull on the working yarn to close the loop around your hook.

    Holding your yarn and hook

    Everyone holds their yarn differently. Personally, I’d suggest having two points of contact with your yarn on your non-dominant hand. Here’s what that means for me:

    You can see that it loops around my fingers. There’s one point of contact between my pinkie and ring finger, and once over my index finger. I feel like this allows me to control the amount of yarn coming through on that first point of contact, and control the tension of the individual stitch on the second. Search around and see how other people hold their yarn too, because you might hate this.

    In terms of holding your hook, there’s knife and pencil grip

    Knife Grip
    Pencil Grip

    I think most people tend to use knife grip, but again it’s up to you and what you feel comfortable with.

    Stitch instructions

    The shorthand for chains in a written pattern is ch.

    The chart symbol for chains is

    Here’s what a chain looks like:

    Hold your working yarn and yarn tail in your left hand. This allows you to keep tension on your work as well, which helps you pull loops through the ones on your hook. Hold your yarn behind your hook.

    Our first step is to yarn over, putting the yarn over your hook. Then, grab the yarn with your hook. You’re going to be twisting the mouth of the hook down and away from you a little bit here.

    Now, you’re going to start using your hook to pull the yarn through the loop on your hook. Don’t hold your yarn or work too tight here! Try and keep it loose. Also, try and angle the mouth or opening of your hook to be at the knot of your slip knot as you pull it through.

    You’ve just completed your first chain stitch!

    In chains after your first, you want the mouth of your hook to face the v of the loop currently on your hook when you pull the loop through:

    Final appearance

    When you do a bunch of these, they start to make this almost braided or chain like texture. You can see a bunch of nested v shapes in the longer chain.

    Tips/common issues

    Here’s some common issues you may come across:

    Holding your yarn too tight- If you can’t pull your hook through the loop on your hook, you’re probably holding your yarn too tight. Try and hold the yarn just tight enough you don’t lose your grip on it.

    Losing hold of your yarn- This one does take a bit of practice. It may be that you’re holding your yarn a little too lose. Again, try and hold the yarn just tight enough that you don’t lose your grip on it. How tight or loose you hold your yarn is called your tension and it can be pretty tricky to get right, so just keep practicing.

    Catching the hook on the loop when pulling through– When trying to pull your new loop through the one already on your hook, you might be catching the existing loop and struggling to pull the new loop through. Try to make sure the mouth (or opening) of your hook is facing that v of the chain stitch- this means the mouth of your hook isn’t facing a strand of yarn when pulling through.

    Pulling the loop tight- Once you finish your chain stitch, don’t pull the chain tight! We want these chain stitches to be open and loose- you’re going to be working into them later and so you’ll need space for your hook to enter.

    My advice for now is to just go ahead and make a long chain and try to get comfortable with the process. We’ll start with single crochets in the next post!

    Previous: Welcome to Crochetsics Basics!

    Next: Single Crochets – Right Handed

  • Welcome to Crochetsics Basics!

    Welcome to Crochetsics Basics!

    Welcome to Crochetsics Basics! This is my tutorial series for people who are absolute beginners at crochet (and fiber arts in general) and want to learn from scratch. This course should teach you everything you need to follow a beginner pattern and hit the ground running, as well as a few other techniques and stitches you may come across.

    Course structure

    I’ve split this course into two “halves”: in the first half we’ll be learning the basic crochet stitches and how to work in rows. In the second, we’ll learn some more advanced stitch techniques and how to work in rounds. Each half will be capped off with a cinch sack project that uses all the techniques we’ve covered so far.

    The course also has right and left handed versions. Most people hold their hook in their dominant hand, and their yarn in their non-dominant hand, so that’s how I’ve named each version of the course. Feel free to follow whichever version feels more comfortable for you! I’m right handed, and so the left-handed version just features me mirroring anything I did for the right-handed version. If there are any mistakes in my descriptions, let me know and I’ll fix them!

    There’s also a corresponding video tutorial series, so if you’d rather follow video tutorials, those will be linked at the start of each post. Here’s the video for this post!

    First, let’s get into the things you’ll need to follow along with this course.

    Hook

    The hook I’d suggest for this course is a 5.5 mm inline aluminum hook.

    This may also be labeled as a US I or I9 hook.

    You don’t need to worry too much about why I suggest this type of hook in particular, but if you’re curious, keep reading. If not, go ahead and skip down to the yarn section.

    Shape

    You’re going to see two different hook shapes: tapered and inline.

    I’d suggest an inline hook if you’re just starting out. These are the ones that look like a cylinder with a notch carved into them. You’re probably less likely to drop your yarn with these, and the sharp point can make it easier to get the hook into a stitch.

    Tapered hooks are great once you’re more comfortable with crochet. They don’t have any sharp edges, making it much easier to slip through loops on your hook. You can crochet quicker with these, but they may also result in tighter stitches. It’s also a bit easier to drop loops since there’s nothing “grabby” on the hook.

    Material

    Aluminum is I feel the slipperiest material you can get, which can make it easier to slide your hook through the yarn. I’ve found wooden hooks to be super grippy, so I’ve had to hold my yarn pretty loose to use them.

    Handle

    Some crochet hooks also have ergonomic grips. These are great to give yourself a little bit larger handle to hold on to, but they aren’t critical for the size hook we’ll be dealing with so no worries if you can’t find one.

    Yarn

    For this course, try to get a 4, or worsted, weight yarn.

    In America, this is shown in the little yarn emblem above. These are also known as medium or worsted weight yarns. The yarn label also has information on the amount of yarn in the skein and the fiber content. They often also have suggested hook or needle sizes.

    The material you choose for this isn’t super critical for this course, so it’s really dependent on what you like. The fiber type and makeup will also be listed somewhere on the label

    Here’s some common yarn fibers to start out with:

    Acrylic- Usually one of the cheaper options, and fairly stretchy. Some people don’t like this for sensory reasons, since it can be kinda scratchy.

    Cotton- Stiffer than acrylic and much less stretch. This can make it a bit tougher on your hands, but may be more comfortable to use from a sensory standpoint.

    Wool- Most common in specialty or independent yarn stores, but also available in big craft stores. These can also be fairly scratchy depending on the yarn you get. Merino wool is typically a bit softer.

    When you select your yarn, feel them to see whether or not you like them. It’ll probably take some time to figure out what you like. Unlike for the hook, I’d suggest a yarn that ISN’T super slippery. These can be harder to hold on to with your hook, so try to avoid slick feeling yarns like bamboo or certain acrylics.

    If you’re getting your yarn secondhand, it might not be labeled. In that case, you can determine the yarn size using the wraps per inch (wpi) of the yarn- the number of wraps it takes for the yarn to span an inch. Worsted weight yarn is about 9 wpi.

    Notions

    These are the non-hook-or-yarn things you should have on hand:

    Tapestry needle- These are needles specifically for yarn, so they’re bigger than sewing or embroidery needles. I personally really like the ones with bent ends, but the straight ones are fine too. I’d advise against plastic needles since they’re more susceptible to bending or breaking.

    Stitch marker- These are always useful and are used to mark stitches (who would have guessed?) You need to get ones that open and close. The fully enclosed ones are for knitting and don’t work for crochet.

    Scissors- For cutting your yarn!

    Conclusion

    Alright! Time for a summary of what you’ll need for this course:

    • 5.5 mm aluminum inline hook
    • 4/worsted weight yarn
    • Tapestry needle
    • Stitch marker
    • Scissors

    We’ll be starting to learn to crochet in the next post, so get your hands on these, and I’ll meet you there!

    Chains – Right Handed

    Chains – Left Handed