how-to-crochet.co.uk

“Longing to learn how to crochet but can’t find anyone to teach you?”

If your answer’s “yes” then read on for your FREE tutorial for crochet beginners!

This free tutorial is suitable for you if:

• You want to learn to crochet, but can’t find anyone to teach you, or
• You’ve tried but failed to learn to crochet in the past, or
• You want to learn in a hurry, or
• You’re not sure if you can learn from diagrams, or
• You’re left–handed and feel left out!

Get started on this free tutorial and you’ll soon be feeling the creative pleasure of hand–making beautiful things for your home and family using today’s mouthwatering yarns.

This free how to crochet tutorial is brought to you courtesy of the publishers of the highly acclaimed learn to crochet book Crochet Unravelled which has helped over 5,000 crochet beginners in the UK.

As you can see, Crochet Unravelled has been written for complete beginners which means that you can learn to crochet with no previous knowledge.

The step–by–step instructions make it easy for you to learn to crochet as quickly as possible. Plus, there loads of hints and tips, so you can make rapid progress and avoid all the usual beginner problems.

Scroll down, grab your hook and start learning to crochet today!

How to hold the hook and yarn

You will need:

The ideal equipment to learn how to crochet is a good quality 4.00 mm crochet hook, and some “double–knitting” cotton yarn (preferably white or cream coloured).

How to hold the hook

In crochet, the hand that you write with holds the hook. There are many ways to hold the hook and yarn, but the method shown here is traditional in the UK, which is an advantage if you have, or remember, family members crocheting like this.

Hold the flattened part of the hook gently between your forefinger and thumb as you would a pencil, with the notch facing down.

• Left–handed

  

• Right–handed

  

How to hold the yarn

Your other hand holds the work and controls the yarn. Try the method shown here.

• Left–handed

  

• Right–handed

  

How to control the yarn

Step 1

Unwind plenty of yarn from the ball. With the yarn arranged as shown above, use the hand that you write with to pull the yarn slowly through your fingers. Keep the fingers of the yarn hand relaxed so that the yarn flows through freely. If the yarn gets stuck, wiggle your fingers to free it. Keep practising this exercise until the yarn flows freely.

• Left–handed

  

• Right–handed

  

Step 2

Gently close the little and ring fingers while you pull so that the yarn tightens.

• Left–handed

  

• Right–handed

  

Repeat steps 1 and 2. With practice these subtle movements of the yarn hand will control the flow of yarn as you crochet.

How to start to crochet

First make a slip knot and place the loop on your hook

(Crochet Unravelled gives clear instructions in how to make a slip knot and reveals tips on its use which are outside the scope of this tutorial. If you don’t know how to make a slip knot, simply tie the yarn onto the hook. It needs to be secure, yet the loop should be able to glide easily along the hook.)

• Left–handed

  

• Right–handed

  

Starting position

The illustration below shows the starting position for most stitches. Practise it as follows: make a slip knot, and gently tighten the loop around the hook. Hold the yarn as shown in Section 1 above, and pinch the slip knot with the forefinger and thumb of the yarn hand. Hold the hook gently. Notice the triangular space formed by the yarn and the index and middle fingers of your yarn hand. The hook will dip into this triangular space in order to scoop the yarn over the hook. Notice how close together the hands are.

• Left–handed

  

• Right–handed

  

How to do chain stitch

Step 1

With the hands arranged in the starting position, dip the hook into the triangular space and scoop the yarn over the hook by moving the hook — in a clockwise direction for left–handers and in an anti–clockwise direction for right–handers.

• Left–handed

  

• Right–handed

  

Once the yarn is over the hook, and with the notch still facing down, gently move the hook in the direction indicated by the arrow in the above illustration so that the scooped yarn is drawn through the loop.

(If the loop seems too tight for the hook to pass through, use the forefinger and thumb of the yarn hand to gently pull down on the slip knot. This will enlarge the loop and allow the hook to pass through.)

Return the hook to the starting position.

• Left–handed

  

• Right–handed

  

Step 2

Using the middle finger of the hook hand to gently hold the loop on the hook, inch the forefinger and thumb of the yarn hand up and gently pinch the chain just made. Then release the middle finger.

• Left–handed

  

• Right–handed

  

Repeat steps 1 and 2 to make a length of chain. Keep in mind the yarn controlling exercise: if the yarn seems to get stuck, relax the little and ring fingers. If the yarn seems too slack, gently close the little and ring fingers. With practice, control of the yarn will become second nature.

• Left–handed

  

• Right–handed

  

Scooping the yarn over the hook is a movement used in all crochet stitches. It takes a little practice, but soon you will be scooping the yarn over in a relaxed and controlled style. Rest your hands regularly, especially if they feel tired. Flex the fingers gently before starting again.

“Need to know how to do more crochet stitches and techniques?”

Are you searching for clear explanations of the following crochet stitches and techniques?

• how to do double–crochet, half–treble and treble crochet stitches, or
• how to work in rows and rounds in crochet, or
• how to understand crochet turning chains, or
• how to follow crochet patterns, or
• how to increase and decrease in crochet, or
• how to understand crochet symbols, or
• how to understand the difference between UK and USA crochet terms?

As soon as you have a firm understanding of the above basic techniques and stitches you’ll be in a great position to start crocheting anything your heart desires!

As you can see from your free tutorial, Crochet Unravelled has been written for both left–handers and right–handers in a clear and concise step–by–step style, so that you’re guaranteed to get the hang of the above crochet basics quickly and confidently.

What’s more, there’s no unnecessary waffle to slow down your progress, but there are loads of hints and tips, so you avoid all the usual beginner problems.

Click here to order Crochet Unravelled from amazon.co.uk and continue your crochet quest today!