Rewards
Written by Jordan Lemley
Like learning any craft, crochet can be challenging, and getting comfortable crocheting takes time and practice. When I first started my crochet journey in the late 90’s (Yes, I’m that old) I learned from my grandmother while watching ‘Touched by An Angel’ which was always followed by some good old fashioned ‘Walker Texas Ranger’, and it brought us closer together. I loved those weekends I spent with my grandmother learning to crochet.
One of the number one rules my grandmother told me was to ALWAYS COUNT YOUR STITCHES, I can hear her voice as I’m typing this. I cannot tell you how many projects of mine came out wonky because I was too impatient or distracted to count my stitches, I mean let’s face it, Walker Texas Ranger was not exactly the kind of show you put on for background sound.
At the time I never imagined crocheting would forever change my life. I didn’t really take it seriously, and before You Tube tutorials, patterns were lost on me. I didn’t think I would ever understand how to read a pattern. I learned the single crochet, and I did only that stitch for many years, making primarily scarves. I never had the patience to make anything bigger, I wanted quick results.
When I got to High School I used to bring my crochet projects to school, and would crochet in the lunchroom or on free periods, it helped me decompress from class. One day, while I was at lunch, a group of older students came up to me and started making fun of me, and suddenly something I enjoyed so much became something that made me feel embarrassed. It took me years to get over that feeling and pick up the hook again.
In 2017, when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter I decided I wanted to start crocheting again, and make her a blanket. This was when I began to discover You Tube tutorials and started learning more intricate stitches. You Tube tutorials helped teach me the abbreviations for each stitch, and before I knew it I was learning how to read patterns, and writing my own!
There are tons of step by step tutorials out there that will teach you each individual stitch as well as walk you through entire projects. Darn Good Yarn just Launched the Stitch Learning Center, to learn both Crochet and Knitting stitches; you can visit Darn Good Yarn’s Stitch Learning Center!
Getting comfortable crocheting takes practice, and patience. You cannot give up on your first failed project. Every project that didn’t come out the way you expect it too, is an opportunity to learn. Even the most skilled crochet artist will frog a project from time to time. Take the time to learn, and the time to teach yourself, and don’t ever stop pushing yourself to try new stitches and projects that look impossible at first glance. You cannot let the voice of others or the one inside your head stop you from creating, you will get the hang of it, and you will be successful!
Enthusiastic Crocheter of Unique and Creative designs since 2017
