Tutorials

Crochet Beginner – How to Crochet

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All you need to know, when starting out on your crocheting adventure!

So it’s always a bit daunting when you are starting a new hobby! It’s hard to know what to buy and what to use and what to follow. So here’s a little bit of an introduction into crocheting and how to get started. So first things first, your crochet kit. So this is my kit, which I have built up over time!

As you can see there are a lot of crochet hooks. There are all different sizes ranging from 2.5mm to 12mm. Each one is used for different weights of yarn and projects. Now to get started, I suggest you buy a 4mm hook and a 3mm hook. These are both used for Double Knit yarn which is the most commonly used yarn I would say. Once you get into crocheting, you can add to your collection. I do find this crochet kit pouch is great for keeping mine all safe and tucked up together. And obviously goes most places with me. (Something to put on your birthday list!)

So there are also different types of hooks that you can buy, from wooden, metal, plastic and then ergonomically designed ones with rubbery handles. These are the ones that I find the best, they are from a company called Clover and are so lovely to work with and can be bought from any online shop or local yarn shop. But if you don’t want to spend too much, at the beginning then, you can buy a pack of cheaper, but still comfy in your hands ones. So it’s up to you.

Now the other thing that you will find in my crochet kit are these.

These are fantastic, they are Lite Up crochet hooks. So basically crochet hooks that have a little torch at the end. It means you can crochet in the dark or in the car at night. I found them fantastically handy when you are camping or on car journeys, when you just want to carry on crocheting. They are also great for dark yarn too which is hard to work with. So definitely a great thing to add to your kit later on down the line.

So you will also need some scissors and a blunt ended tapestry needle. I find the metal ones are the best. These needles help you to sew in all those yarny ends when you finish your projects.

Other things that are handy are a little tape measure and some stitch markers, but again, they are something you add to your kit when you need them.

So just to clarify, to start off get yourself a 3mm and 4mm crochet hook, some scissors and a blunt ended tapestry needle! The crochet 4mm hook is used for normal double knit crocheting, but the 3mm hook will be used if you want to make toys with double knit yarn using the Amigurimi method (crocheting in the round.) See my tutorial on magic rings and crocheting in the round, if you are intrigued!!

Now all you need to do is buy some yarn. So there are all sorts of different types of yarn that you can use – cotton, wool, cashmere, silk, sock yarn (which is a wool/nylon mix) and acrylic to name but a few. I tend to stick with wool or wool mixes as they are great to work with and soft to use for your hands. Cotton is a great yarn to work with at the beginning, as it’s cheap and cheerful and easy to work with. King Cole Cotton Soft is a nice one to use.

If you are looking for something a bit more special but great to work with then the Sublime Cashmere/Merino Mix Wool range is fabulous.

It’s a definite go to for me. And then you have all the incredible handdyed yarns that are just out of this world. Luxury Yarns and HeyJayYarn are just a couple of my favourites.

This is from the amazingly talented Abby Parkes at Luxury Yarns, who hand dyes all her own yarn.

And this one is a beautiful sock yarn from the incredible Hannah at HeyJay Yarns.

But there are sooooo many more to choose from!! Oooo the posssiblities!!

There are also loads of magazines and books that you can get your hands on in most shops. Simply crochet is one of my favourites. But there are lots on the market. Most have lovely patterns in abs handy tutorials at the back too. And some of the books that are on the market are just incredible. Some real yarny treats to keep you busy.


Now it’s time to have a go. First things first. Slip Knots, Foundation chains and Double Crocheting. Now to start with just use some simple double knit yarn such as cotton and a 4mm crochet hook.

Once you’ve mastered these 3 elements of crocheting it’s then time to choose what you would like to make first. Something simple I would say. Anyways, hope this all makes sense and I am always here if you need any extra help.

Good luck…

Right so you can either follow the link below to a video tutorial or follow the photograph tutorial.

Video Tutorial –

https://youtu.be/NKfEaIj74Vw

Photograph Tutorial –

Slip Knot

With any crocheting you will always start with a slip knot. Whether you are starting with rows or rounds, a slip knot is required to anchor the yarn to the hook.

 Firstly fold over the yarn to make a loop.
 Insert your hook through the loop and grab the working yarn (long piece) and pull through the loop.
 Hold the tail and the working yarn and pull tight to create a knot.
 And here is your slip knot.

Now you are ready to start crocheting.

Foundation Chain

A foundation chain is required when you are starting your crocheting project with rows. Now that you have created your slip knot, you can make the chain.

 Wrap your yarn over your hook and pull back through the loop.
 This will create the first chain. Now pull the yarn over the hook and pull through again to make the second chain.
 Repeat this process till you have the amount of chains that you require.

Now you are ready to start your crocheted rows.

Double Crochet

So start by having 10 chains in your foundation chain. You can count them by the top loop. See where the arrow is pointing – that is one chain stitch. I have 10 here. Remember that you don’t count the loop on the hook.

Now it’s time to chain 1, as this will give us the height of a double crochet. Now we are going to work our first double crochet stitch in the second chain from the hook. (This is where the arrow is pointing.)

*Ok so insert the hook, into the stitch and place your yarn over your hook.

Now pull the yarn through the stitch leaving you with 2 loops on your hook.

Now yarn over your hook again and pull through both loops and there you have your first double crochet.*

Now continue working down the row in each of the chain stitches repeating this ** process.

Ok so you now have 10 double crochets in your row. So turn your work and chain 1. Remember to chain you need to put your yarn over your hook and just pull it through the loop on your hook.

*Now insert your hook into the first stitch. Can you see how it goes through the V now, so both little loops.

Yarn over your hook again and pull through the stitch to make 2 loops.

Then yarn over your hook again and pull through both loops on your hook. This completes your first double crochet in the row.*

Now repeat the process ** down the row to give you 10 double crochet stitches.

Once you are here you can now turn your work, chain 1 again and work 10 double crochet stitches.

And you are off!! Please shout if you need any help or any other photos.

Hmmm, now what will you make…

Good luck!!

🌈Xx

Don’t forget, there is also a tutorial on magic rings and crocheting in the round if you are interested in that. And also have a peak at all my patterns, as they are all photograph tutorials, so hopefully you will find these handy too.

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Patterns

Simple Snood

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Well hello my lovely ones!!! How are we all? I seem to be on a go slow at the moment and I am rather late with my pattern for my January’s Ōilsyarns Club parcel. So apologies for that one!! Can’t believe it’s March already!! Hopefully I am now back in the land of the yarny living and able to bring you this snood pattern made with the magnificent hand dyed yarn from the amazing Abby Parkes at Luxury Yarn. Abby’s yarn is so beautiful!! I hope my snood pattern does it justice.

My daughter absolutely adores her Snuggle Snood I made for her from my November Ōilsyarns parcel, so thought it was about time I made one for my son. This was my daughter’s one. It’s my Snuggle Snood pattern and it uses the wonderful Trinity stitch. You can find it in the archive on the right. Her size is suitable for both child and adult alike.

So my pattern this time, is ever so simple, using only double and treble stitches with a few chain stitches thrown in. It will also show you how to work a Back Loop Treble Stitch, which is used in all sorts of patterns. This pattern is for both adult and child, so very versatile. Really hope you like it.

So getting back to the amazing yarn from Luxury Yarns. Seriously love this yarn. The hand dyed colours are just like little clouds in the sky, which is why I thought it would be perfect for my son. I’ve enclosed a link below to the amazing Luxury Yarn website if you fancy a peak or even subscribing to the amazing Ōilsyarns club. Trust me, it’s incredible!!

You won’t regret it!!! I am always awaiting my little parcel of yarny perfection to drop on my door mat. I think it’s the sense of yarny excitement of what is in the parcel and then the fun and joy of deciding what to make with it that is so utterly appealing. It reminds me of the really popular toy crazes at the moment, with things like LOL Dolls. The unknown toy!! Kids get so excited by these. Well this is the same in a seriously amazing yarny form! Exciting!! Yey!! So here’s the link. Happy peaking!!

https://luxuryyarns.co.uk/

So onto the pattern…

So with this pattern I have included sizes for a child and an adult. The one you see in the picture above is a child’s one. It fits my little son, with lots of room. So I would make it for say a one year old to a 5 year old. Where as the adult size would do a 6/7 year old an upwards to adulthood. I tend to borrow my daughter’s one when she let’s me! Both the sizes are included in the pattern. The child’s size is in the first bracket, so will look like this (30). And the adult will be given in bold writing (50), like so. Hope that makes sense.

Level – Easy

Supplies – 

So I have used one skein of 5ply weight yarn 100g for this snood from the amazing Abby Parkes at Luxury Yarns, but you can easily use a double knit wool, as it will just be a little bigger.

My little ball of loveliness came out of this little box of magic. It’s my second instalment from the wonderful Abby Parkes over at Luxury Yarns. The Ōilsyarns Club parcel this time had comprises a skein of beautifully hand dyed yarn by Abby, two little essential oil gems from dōTERRA and a lovely little handmade jewel stitch marker.

Now for this pattern you will need to use a 4mm crochet hook. You will also need some scissors and a blunt ended tapestry needle to sew in your ends.

Stitches – 

Chain (ch) – To make a chain, place the yarn over the hook then pull it through the loop on your hook.

Double Crochet (dc) – Insert the hook through the stitch, front to back, then yarn over hook and pull back through stitch. You will have two loops on your hook. Then yarn over your hook and pull through both loops.

Treble Crochet (tr) – To make a treble crochet, firstly yarn over your hook, insert through space/stitch, yarn over your hook, pull back through space/stitch. There should now be 3 loops on your hook. Then yarn over hook and pull through the first two loops, yarn over hook and pull through the last two loops.

Back Loop Treble Crochet (bltr) – To make a back loop treble crochet, firstly yarn over your hook, insert through the back loop of the stitch, yarn over your hook, pull back through the stitch. There should now be 3 loops on your hook. Then yarn over hook and pull through the first two loops, yarn over hook and pull through the last two loops.

Chain 1 Space – this will be refered to as ch1sp.

Ok so here we go… 

1 – Ok so start off by chaining (30) (50) with your 4mm hook.

2 – Now chain 3 more and then work 1tr in the 4th chain from the hook. This is where the arrow is pointing.

To work a tr stitch, firstly yarn over your hook, insert through the stitch. Then yarn over your hook, pull back through the stitch. There should now be 3 loops on your hook.

Then yarn over hook and pull through the first two loops.

Yarn over your hook and pull through the last two loops. That completes your Treble Crochet Stitch.

Then continue working 1tr in each stitch across the row. (30)(50)

3 – Now turn your work and chain 3. In this row you are going to work back loop treble crochet (bltr) stitches. This is where you work only in the back loop of the row below. Can you see where the arrow is pointing. This is the back part of the V of the stitch, so the back loop.

So yarn over your hook and insert your hook into the back loop. Can you see that my hook is only going through the back part of the stitch.

Then yarn over your hook and pull through and then yarn over your hook and pull through the first 2 loops and then yarn over your hook and pull through the last 2 loops. This completes your bltr. *Now work 1bltr in the next stitch in the row.* Repeat this ** across the rest of the row.

Can you see how it is giving you a lovely ridge. This will give your snood that springy effect.

At the end of the row, work 1bltr in the last stitch. (30)(50)

4 – For the next row you are going to turn your work and chain 3. Then work 1bltr in the same stitch. *Now chain 1 and miss a stitch, then work 1bltr in the next stitch* (this is where the arrow is pointing.)

You are now going to repeat this ** process across the row.

At the end of the row, after the last ch1 and bltr just work 1bltr in the last stitch. (30)(50)

5 – Right so now we are going to turn our work and chain 3. Then work 1bltr in the first stitch. You are then going to work your 1tr in the chain 1 space from the row below. The arrow is showing in the photo below, where you need to insert your hook.

Can you see how the 1tr stitch has been worked in the chain 1 space.

So now work *1bltr in the next stitch and then 1tr in the ch1sp.* Then repeat this process across the row, finishing with 1bltr in the last stitch. (30)(50)

Ok so now it’s time to repeat the last 3 rows. So here’s the process again. Repeat these 3 rows (15) (23) times.

  • Turn your work, Chain 3, 1bltr in the first stitch, then 1bltr in each stitch in the row. (30)(50)
  • Turn your work, chain 3 and 1bltr in the first stitch, then *chain 1, miss a stitch and work 1bltr in the next stitch.* Repeat this ** across the row, finishing with 1bltr in the last stitch. (30)(50)
  • Turn your work, chain 3 and work 1bltr in the first stitch and then 1tr in the ch1sp. *Now 1bltr in the next stitch and then 1tr in the ch1sp.* Then repeat this ** process across the row, finishing with 1bltr in the last stitch. (30)(50)

Obviously, if you wanted an infinity scarf, you could repeat the 3 row process for as long as you’d like. Hmm, now I think that might need to be made!!

Right then, so now it’s time to fasten up the snood. So to do this, place one half of the snood on top of the other. You are going to work dc stitches up the side to attach it to one another. So start by working 1 chain and then inserting your hook into your first stitch, then also into the first chain in the foundation stitch.

Now yarn over your hook and pull through the chain and then also back through the tr stitch. You should now have 2 loops on your hook. Now finish the dc stitch by placing the yarn over your hook and pulling through both loops.

Now continue working 1dc into each stitch in this same way – so working through both the tr stitches and the foundation chain stitches.

At the end of the row, once you have worked the last dc stitch, work a slip stitch in the same stitch and fasten off. (30)(50)

Now you should have a nice little ridge. This little ridge will be the inside of your snood. All you need to do now is sew in your ends with your tapestry needle. I always make sure I work it around the last stitch a few times, just to secure it a little.

And here’s the finished article. All you need to do now is turn it inside out.

I hope you have enjoyed this snood pattern. Please give me a shout if you get stuck. I bet it would look mega in a plain colour such as a grey. Can’t wait to see your finished articles. Don’t forget to link it to @pipsrainbow if you share it on social media.

Happy hooking everyone!!

🌈Xx

(Free pattern brought to you by PipsRainbow. Thank you for not copying or recreating it.)

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