The 5th of June is a very special day in the history of the universe, the day my amazing mum was born.....hence the need to find an appropriate birthday gift on my less than modest budget. She mentioned an interest in rekindling her crochet skills, so I found a great pattern online for her to crochet a Westie (Ahhh, like her new family member :) and a trip to The Works bookshop seemed like a good add on. Little did I know that this visit would reinspire me too!!
Having always done something "arty," I'd noticed that I had come to a bit of a stand still with my watercolour painting, and perhaps it was time to have a break and throw myself into learning something new. Well, I came out of the book shop with a book for mum, and a duplicate for me, projects for beginners.....
The book and the Westie pattern went off to the post office, and I went off to the nearby Dog Rescue Charity shop to buy the one crochet hook they had, wohoo!! and a little ball of wool.
I had a lovely first evening with my number 4 hook and my ball of wool just practicing three basic stitches.
MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT CROCHET
After having a look through my new book, I opted for the first project on the list, a simple set of table mats, rectangles using just the double crochet stitch throughout.
I didn't reckon my ball of brown wool would give me six mats, so I thought I'd try just one, and a bit smaller.....and see how long it took.
I choose a simple pattern with just three basic stitches:-
Slip knot
Chain stitch
Double crochet
MEASURES.... just under 10 inches,
WEIGHS.....47 grams (which I'm surprised at since the ball was marked at weighing only 29g to begin with...)
CROCHET PROJECT REFLECTIONS???
Well, I don't know if you noticed, but there's something a little odd about the shape..... it seems that my first few rows are shorter than the rest of the block, but after the stitches are the right count, so the problem must be that I started off to tight (especially with the chain) and then got super relaxed as I got into the double crochet rhythm.
I'm not entirely sure what the future holds for my first square, I'm going to put it on one side for the moment until I've learned some other stitches to maybe put some granny squares round the edges and make a cushion. To be continued...
If you fancy a go at this, just to practice, here's the instructions...
1. Make a slip knot, then make 41 chain stitches (cs)
2. Make your 1st double crochet (dc) through the 2nd chain and work through each single chain to the end.
3. Make 1 single chain stitch (cs) then flip the work over
4. Make a double crochet in the 2nd chain, and continue to the end
5. Keep going until you've had enough
Here are the stitches I used...
STITCHES NEEDED
1. The first is the slip knot, essential for starting any project.
2. Next, the chain stitch, also essential for every project, as this is the foundation chain. (I did 40 of these on this project, then an extra chain to start the second row (see instructions below))
3. And lastly, the double crochet stitch. (My tutorial has loads of pictures, for this, so go straight over to the double crochet step by step tutorial.
CROCHET TIPS?MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT CROCHET
After having a look through my new book, I opted for the first project on the list, a simple set of table mats, rectangles using just the double crochet stitch throughout.
I didn't reckon my ball of brown wool would give me six mats, so I thought I'd try just one, and a bit smaller.....and see how long it took.
I choose a simple pattern with just three basic stitches:-
Slip knot
Chain stitch
Double crochet
HERE'S MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT A SIMPLE BLOCK MADE FROM DOUBLE CROCHET
TIME TAKEN......4 hrs 20 minutes (Yes, I'm shocked too)MEASURES.... just under 10 inches,
WEIGHS.....47 grams (which I'm surprised at since the ball was marked at weighing only 29g to begin with...)
CROCHET PROJECT REFLECTIONS???
Well, I don't know if you noticed, but there's something a little odd about the shape..... it seems that my first few rows are shorter than the rest of the block, but after the stitches are the right count, so the problem must be that I started off to tight (especially with the chain) and then got super relaxed as I got into the double crochet rhythm.
I'm not entirely sure what the future holds for my first square, I'm going to put it on one side for the moment until I've learned some other stitches to maybe put some granny squares round the edges and make a cushion. To be continued...
If you fancy a go at this, just to practice, here's the instructions...
1. Make a slip knot, then make 41 chain stitches (cs)
2. Make your 1st double crochet (dc) through the 2nd chain and work through each single chain to the end.
3. Make 1 single chain stitch (cs) then flip the work over
4. Make a double crochet in the 2nd chain, and continue to the end
5. Keep going until you've had enough
Here are the stitches I used...
STITCHES NEEDED
1. The first is the slip knot, essential for starting any project.
2. Next, the chain stitch, also essential for every project, as this is the foundation chain. (I did 40 of these on this project, then an extra chain to start the second row (see instructions below))
3. And lastly, the double crochet stitch. (My tutorial has loads of pictures, for this, so go straight over to the double crochet step by step tutorial.
From one newbie to another, I'd recommend:-
A. Spending some time just getting used to how the yarn tension is kept consistant between the fingers of both hands,
B. I found that I was getting tense myself at times (not exactly stressful activity...) so just be aware of keeping relaxed and not tugging too much with the right arm (right handers advice) otherwise your shoulder and wrist will not be happy with you!!
C. Crochet is not to be an exhausting workout, but it does help to move your shoulder round every now and then, and your head, just to loosen any stiffness in your neck.
D. Try and keep your stitches loose
E. I found that if I kept the ball of yarn on my lap, it was a comfortable place for it be as I gently tugged the yarn free from the ball from time to time
A. Spending some time just getting used to how the yarn tension is kept consistant between the fingers of both hands,
B. I found that I was getting tense myself at times (not exactly stressful activity...) so just be aware of keeping relaxed and not tugging too much with the right arm (right handers advice) otherwise your shoulder and wrist will not be happy with you!!
C. Crochet is not to be an exhausting workout, but it does help to move your shoulder round every now and then, and your head, just to loosen any stiffness in your neck.
D. Try and keep your stitches loose
E. I found that if I kept the ball of yarn on my lap, it was a comfortable place for it be as I gently tugged the yarn free from the ball from time to time
Enjoy practising your first stitches!! Happy crochet :)
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