Overcoming beginner’s Crochet challenges: 5 secrets to hold on to

Introduction

Crochet is an interesting craft that involves creating a fabric with yarn or thread with a hook. When you start with crochet it may not seem that easy. But with time ans practice you will get there. Today i will talk about a few secrets to hold on to for overcoming these crochet challenges.

Crochet was very popular in old times and it has started gaining popularity again recently. With time the art has evolved a lot. Today you can find super trendy and modern crochet designs.

As a beginner level crocheter you may face crochet challenges as it requires skill and technique to get it right. There is a huge selection of tools and materials to select from. A lot of scattered information on the art of crochet is available on the internet making it overwhelming for many new crocheters. All these factors and more cause for crochet challenges. But there are ways and means to overcome these challenges. Today we will be discussing that too.

Before we do that why is it necessary to overcome crochet challenges?

Well! crochet is a fun and beneficial and fun hobby only if done right and stress free. In order to do that one must be relaxed and confident while crocheting. And that can be done only when you can master the art and not struggle with little things.

It is much simpler than it sounds. Just follow the correct steps and you will be good to go.

Common crochet challenges faced by beginner crocheters.

Before diving into the secrets let us take a look at the few common crochet challenges that most beginner level crocheters face.

1. Choosing the right yarn and hook is the most common crochet challenge

As discussed before there is a huge selection of tools and materials out there to buy from. This is both a blessing and a curse. When starting to crochet and with a little or no experience it can be a challenge to select the correct hook and yarn for yourself. This is in my opinion the biggest crochet challenge faced by any beginner crocheter. To know in detail about the different types of crochet hooks available read me previous blog here.

2. Reading a pattern and understanding crochet abbreviations is another crochet challenge

After crochet hooks and yarns the next crochet challenge is reading a crochet patten. As a beginner crocheter a pattern my look like a code book with abbreviations everywhere. It might take a little time to get used to a pattern but it not at all difficult. The appreciations are also easy to remember and with practice it becomes easy. If you are new to crochet and want to learn to read a pattern read me blog on How to read a crochet pattern: The ultimate free guide to make it easy.

3. Maintaining even tension in stitches

At the beginning of the crochet journey without much practice it is challenging to maintain tension in stitches. This makes the stitches look uneven and the work looks a bit untidy. This is something faced by each and every one of us when we start crocheting. You need to know that you are not doing anything wrong. It just takes practice to reach the point where all stitches are even and you can effortlessly maintain even tension in your work.

One suggestion for this to try using knitter’s ring to hold the yarn with ensures even feeding of yarn throughout and hence maintains even tension.

4. Keeping track of stitch count

When you learn crochet there are a lot of things in your mind and with that keeping track of stitch count becomes difficult. When I teach crochet I see this very often that they forget stitch count, loose track of rounds, forget where to increase or decrease and many such problems. This actually is not a challenge as it can be instantly removed by the use of stitch markers. To know more about what stitch markers are and how to use them to overcome this crochet challenge read my blog on 10 reasons to use stitch markers: free simple guide to understand them.

These are a few most common crochet challenges that new crocheters face. Now let us see the 5 secrets to overcome most of the crochet challenges.

#5 secrets to overcoming crochet challenges

These 5 secrets are a solution to almost every challenge that a beginner crocheter faces in the beginning. Follow them all or those that you feel might help you. Or atleast give them a try and see they work.

1. Practice Practice Practice

This one is the most obvious but the most ignored secret. Almost every crochet challenge that you face can be overcome with practice and experiment. You can master all techniques with enough practice.

2. Select correct hooks and yarns

The first step to crochet is the selection of the tools and materials. If you get this right you are half way there. It is difficult to get it right in one go because of the enormous options available. Also there is not definite right or wrong. To help you with this I have a free check list to guide you with the selection of the basic tools and materials. You can download it here.

3. Learn from an experienced crocheters to get ahead of crochet challenges

Learn to crochet from an experienced crocheter. Take proper beginner classes to learn the basic techniques. There are a lot of paid and free crochet classes that you can learn from. Check out my youtube channel and see if you like anything there. Try different modes of learning online, offline, one to one or a community of crocheters. See what suits you and where you feel most comfortable.

4. Don’t be afraid of experimenting and making mistakes

This one is my favourite. Trust me when I say this. Make mistakes and a lot of them. Learn from them and move on. Crochet is a personal skill that varies from person to person and in order to know your personal style, trial and error is the best way. Create patterns learn and practice techniques and then decide what you like and what you don’t.

Crochet is a craft with no rules. There is no right or wrong. Just personal likes and dislikes.

5. Join a community of crocheters to get feed back and stay inspired and overcome crochet challenges

The 5th secret to overcome crochet challenge is by being a part of a crochet community. As part of a healthy and safe community of crafters you will get a platform o share your progress and concerns and get feed back. A lot of problems that new crocheters face can be easily solved in such communities. If you are not a part any community and want to join one you are welcome to join my facebook community. Here is the link.