I started my beginner crochet journey today. After many attempts and an afternoon spent making chains, I finally succeeded — I made a little square.
What is Crochet?
Crochet is a textile craft that uses a single hook to create interlocking hoops of yarn. It’s similar to knitting but instead of two knitting needles you use one crochet hook.
The word crochet comes from the French word croche meaning hook.
The exact origins of crochet are unclear, but evidence suggests it evolved from earlier techniques like nalebinding, which dates back to 6500 BC and tambour embroidery, which was popular in 17th-century France and India. There are no surviving crochet pieces found that predate the 19-century, but similar looping techniques were used in regions like Egypt, Iran, China, and the Mediterranean.
What I Learned in My Beginner Crochet Journey.
I learned that even though crochet looks easy, it takes practice and patience.
As a left-handed person, I often struggle with learning crafts like knitting and crochet. A few years ago, I taught myself how to knit but always wanted to learn crochet so I can make those mini amigurumi (ah-mee-goo-roo-me) creatures I keep seeing when I’m doom scrolling.
So here we are, an afternoon with a hook, yarn, and a stubborn determination to make a square. Housework can wait 😊
Once I figured out that I prefer to hold my hook like a pen rather than a knife, and to position the yarn for tension, things started to make sense. Everyone holds their yarn differently, and finding what is natural to for me made a big difference.
Making chains was fine. It reminded me of the French knitting I did as a child, with the little wooden bobbin with 4 nails hammered into the top.
Then we came the second row.
That’s when everything unravelled. Literally
There was a lot of undoing and redoing before I eventually ended up with something that resembled a square.
It may not be the squarest square, it may not be perfect, but it was something I made, and that makes the rest irrelevant.
For now, squares are in my future. One square at a time until I get enough knowledge and confidence to make my own cute amigurumi.
Journey Navigation
Part of my 300 Goals Project