2. I’ve also started compiling Craftster-hosted “How To Crochet” tutorials here. There are only a few there at the moment, but that will change soon! Read the post and help out if you can!

3. I’m officially a “designer” on Ravelry (here I am – you need a Ravelry account to see this. Again, it’s free and rewarding!)

4. One of the main reasons I love crocheting is this: one day my feet were cold. The next:

Problem solved!
(yarn: Bernat Solf Boucle, hook: 6mm, pattern: winging it!)

Today I’m going to cover picking yarn and a matching hook, how to make a slip knot, and how to hold the yarn while crocheting. If you already know these things, take a look at the pretty slippers I made myself for work:

Everyone else, please join me under the cut:

So you want to learn how to crochet. The first thing you do is head to the craft store, but what do you get when you’re there? Well, a crochet hook, obviously, and some yarn. But there are dozens of hooks from which to choose, and hundreds of different types of yarn. What do you do?

My advice is to start with the yarn. Pick one that is smooth (not hairy or bumpy) and not too thick or too thin, in a colour that you like. I recommend a shade in the medium range: not too light, not too dark. You might want to pick a variegated yarn (meaning there are multiple colours in one ball). Some people find it easier to see the stitches when they appear in different colours. Seasoned crocheters sometimes like using variegated yarns because it can hold their interest longer than the single colour yarns do.

Once you have your yarn of choice, look at the label to determine which hook to get. Here is the ball band from a ball of Bernat Satin:

You can see where I’ve circled the recommended hook size. Beware: some yarns don’t tell you a hook size. Usually those yarns will tell you a knitting needle size, and I’ve found that using the same size hook works just fine.

Find your hook. Most hooks come in a package that clearly displays the hook size. If it doesn’t, you’ll want to look at the thumb rest; that’s the flat bit about an inch or so down from the hook. Here’s mine:

When I first learned to crochet I found that when using the recommended hook I ended up with stitches that were too tight. Moving up a hook size usually solved the problem. So, in this case, I would have probably gone for a 5.5mm hook. For the last little while I’ve noticed that the recommended hook size has been working just fine, which means that no matter how experienced you get, it’s important to do a swatch before you start any patterns where size matters. (More on swatches another time.)

For now, start with the recommended hook. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can certainly buy more hooks in different sizes, just to test them out. If you get as obsessed with crocheting as I am, you’ll be buying them eventually anyway. ^_-

So, you have your yarn and your hook. What now?

The first thing you need to do to make anything in crochet is to make a slip knot. (There are always exceptions.)

These instructions are for right-handed crocheters. If you are left-handed, just switch the directions and hold a mirror up to the side of your screen ^_^

Find a yarn end (preferably the one on the inside, again, more on that later) and lay the yarn out with the end of the yarn to the left:

Lift the yarn up to the right of the end and fold it over itself making a loop:

With your thumb and pointer finger, reach through that loop and grab the yarn to the right of the loop (towards the ball) and pull it through the loop:

Pull on the yarn hanging down from the loop (I needed one hand to take this picture, so imagine my other hand holding the loop at the top) :

Grab your hook and insert it in the loop you made:

and pull on the yarn leading towards the ball (known as the “working yarn”) and the loop will tighten around your hook. If it doesn’t, try pulling on the yarn tail. If that works, then you did something differently than the instructions. Take your hook out of the loop and keep pulling on the yarn tail until the slip knot comes out, and try it again. It’s important that the working yarn be the side that closes the loop.

Finally, how to hold the yarn. There are many different ways to hold the working yarn. The goal is to control the tension of the yarn as you work with it while still having fingers left over to hold your work in progress.

This is how I do it:

Starting close to the hook, and working loosely, hold your hand palm up and bring the yarn up between your ring and pinky fingers:

and bring it down over the pinky.

Wrap around the pinky then pull the yarn up between those same two fingers again:

then pull the yarn up towards your other fingers.

Bring the yarn down between your pointer and middle fingers and wrap it up and around your pointer finger:

Then hold your work in progress between your thumb and middle finger:

This will allow you to control the yarn by moving your pointer finger up and down as needed, and holding the rest of your fingers splayed apart or held close together to make the yarn come faster or slower, respectively.

Experiment with it. Some people find that simply holding the yarn in a loose fist does the job just as well.

I was hoping to at least include pictures on how to make a chain stitch, but the batteries in my camera died, so that will have to wait for another day.

Good luck, and don’t be afraid to ask questions!

The worst part about this whole ordeal is that I’ve been too sick to craft! Can you even imagine?

So, today I present you with crafts I’ve made in the past that have been keeping me warm (especially during that blackout we just had!)

First, the slippers. I made these to wear at work. I just hate wearing shoes there, but walking around in my socks has given me funny looks and can be quite disastrous when they mop the floor!

These are the first slippers I’d ever made:

I got the pattern for these from a friend of mine. Basically, you pick a fuzzy yarn (so as to hide what you’re doing), and start working in the round. Make some increases until the circle is big enough to go around your foot, then do one stitch per one stitch to form a tube. Sometimes I find I need to make some decreases while making the tube… just keep measuring it against your foot as you go. When you get near your ankle it’s time to stop making a tube and start making a u-shape. Keep going back and forth in the u-shape until you reach your heel. I find it very useful to pull the slipper tight every time I measure it against my foot… they seem to last longer that way. When it’s the right size, cut the yarn leaving a really long tail, finish off, then use the tail to sew the two sides of the u-shape together to form the back of the slipper.

Repeat for other foot.

It’s really quite easy. Using the fuzzy yarn really hides any fudging you have to do with increases and decreases. Oh! I also find it best to start with a circle made of sc, then do dc for the rest.

Here are the last pair I made for myself:

I used Bernat Soft Bouclé for all of my slippers. The green ones are “Sage Stripes” (which doesn’t seem to exist anymore… that really sucks!).

From my feet we move on to my head. I made myself this hat:
It can’t talk to you right now.

And finally, I present to you a photo essay detailing the creation of the Giant Pink Mitten of Doom:
The Thumb:

Where I ran out of yarn:

Finished! It’s a bit on the big side: