Hello and welcome! Today’s post focuses on crochet resources for new crocheters and those starting their crochet journey. I’ll be sharing some ideas, items and accessories that I hope you will find helpful. I’m so happy you’re here and I hope that you will find this post beneficial as you start crocheting.

Let’s begin with the basic tools that you’ll need to get started:

Crochet Hook
For a beginner I would recommend a 5mm or 6mm hook. Those sizes work well with most worsted weight yarn (size 4 and generally most common for projects). Use whatever hook is comfortable for you: metal, bamboo, acrylic, wood, etc. Over time you may develop a preference for a particular hook.

Yarn
To compliment your 5mm or 6mm hook, choose an acrylic based worsted yarn. This is a number 4 weight yarn and easily found in local craft stores or online retailers. I would suggest a solid colour yarn to allow you to see your stitches clearly. Some great options for learning and practicing are Red Heart Super Saver, Red Heart Classic, Loops and Threads Impeccable, Patons Canadiana, Bernat Super Value, and Caron Simply Soft. Once you’re comfortable and feeling adventurous, branch out and explore new yarn brands and fibres! They all work up differently and it can be so much fun discovering them all. Just make sure that your yarn and hook size work together! If you’d like to learn some other aspects about yarn, including information about weights and dye lots, please check out these previous posts:
– All About Yarn Weight
– Dye Lots
– Yarn Preparation

Other Tools
– Scissors to cut your yarn
– Yarn needle for weaving in ends
– Stitch makers (not just for counting your rows but also for holding your place if you need to put down your project).
– A basket or small container to keep your project and tools together when you’re not working on it.

Stitches
Focus on the basics. There are so many beautiful patterns out there, perhaps you saw one and it was what inspired you to learn. One of the biggest pieces of advice I can share is to not get ahead of yourself. It is worthwhile and beneficial to you to work slowly and focus on one stitch at a time. For example: The first thing you need to learn is how to chain. Be attentive to tension and consistency. Once you feel comfortable and confident, move on to creating single crochet stitches into a chain. From there, create rows of half double crochet into your single crochet. Follow that up with making rows of double crochet, then triple crochet. Not only will it help you to focus on one stitch at a time, it’s an excellent way to see how each type of stitch works up. The height differences, the amount of yarn used and so on.

All crochet projects are rooted in the basics and all special stitches are made up of the basic stitches. The bobble stitch is simply made up of double crochet stitches. The moss stitch is single crochet and chains. Once you know how to make the basic stitches, you can do anything!

Check out these past posts about learning and practicing new stitches:
– Practicing Tension
– Marking Your Rows

Learning
Everyone learns in different ways and thankfully, there are many resources available to assist you. Here are some suggestions:

Online
– YouTube is a fantastic resource for beginners. There are so many valuable video tutorials filmed by designers and other crocheters created to teach. A simple search of “How to chain” or “How to single crochet” will bring up numerous videos for you to choose from. The Crochet Crowd is filled with video tutorials and was extremely helpful when I was learning.
– Google is a fantastic way to search for tutorials as well. You’ll find links to video tutorials along with photo and written walk throughs. I’ve started to build up my own tutorials and helpful crochet info. You can find some of them here: Tutorials and Resources
– Pinterest is extremely vast for patterns and tutorials but it can easily be disappointing to find a dead end or an incorrect link. There are a lot of wonderful finds but sometimes it can take some patience and weeding through.
– Instagram is an online resource that I have found to be extremely beneficial. Connect with designers and other crocheters, use the search function with hashtags like “#beginnercrochet” or “#crochettutorials” to browse through all the content geared to beginners.
– Join a crochet Facebook group. With all the members, there are endless areas of connecting and asking questions to help you along as you learn.

Books
If you’re more of a tactile person who prefers to flip through a book, there are a lot of options for you!
– A stitch dictionary is often helpful because they usually contain both written, photo and sometimes graph instructions.
– Beginner books such as “The Happy Hooker” by Debbie Stoller or “Calamity-Free Crochet” by Catherine Hirst are great options.

Check your local library for these books or other beginner friendly ones. If you’d like to own your copy, check out the hobby or craft section online or at your local bookstore.

Community Connections
Sometimes local libraries, community centres or yarn shops offer classes or crochet groups.

Patterns:
Once you’ve spent time practicing rows of your basic stitches and you’re ready to jump into patterns, start simple. Granny squares are a wonderful way to begin. Start with single colours and then transition over changing colours each round later on. Work on the classic square and then search around for some more complex variations. Motifs and appliques are great beginner projects because they are generally small and simple. Coasters, face scrubbies and washcloth are also wonderful options. Below are some simple project ideas that I designed with beginners in mind:

– Sweet Treat Bow
– The Magnificent Mini Pouch
– One Hour Double Crochet
– Happy Vibes Cotton Coaster
– Sweet and Simple Crochet Basket
– Simply Striped Drawstring Pouch
– Granny Square Tutorial
– Crochet Hexagon Tutorial

If you’d like to learn more about patterns and project preparation, these past posts might be helpful!
– Project Prep
– Pattern Prep

Everything I have shared with you, I have learned on my own crochet journey. I hope that by compiling them together here, they will also be helpful to you. Crochet is a beautiful hobby to enjoy.

I would love to hear from you. Tell me about your crochet or send me a message just to say hi. I’m most active on Instagram and you can find me there at: @sweet_bee_crochet

For other ways to connect, please head over to the Contact section of my blog.

Happy Crocheting!