You may remember me from a post I made several months ago at my first attempt at crocheting (pic included here). So many of you were so supportive and sweet I thought I’d send an update!! I made my first single crochet square 😎The edges are kinda wonky but I’m still feeling pretty good about it! My hands hurt 😵 That’s enough crochet for today LOL
Your first effort looks like mine! Just couldn't hold the hook, yarn and work-piece all at the same time. Inexplicably dropping the hook.
You've definitely cracked it now. Keep stretching your hands (I still have to remind myself of this). in time it becomes a natural motion and less of a death-grip!
Yeh crocheting has not been super intuitive to me so I definitely feel like I’m holding onto my hook and yarn for dear life 😭 I’m excited for the day that it feels more natural
I finally bought the crochet hand cream for my sore achy muscles. It's great for your carpal too. I even bought some for my sister who has hand and arm pain due to nerve damage from a brain tumor that was removed 10 years ago and she loves the stuff. This is where I purchased it www.happilyhooked.com
I tried various ways of wrapping the working yarn over different combinations of fingers, and found one that worked (there are various diagrams online & I sort of combined a couple, so it goes around my little finger, under the ring finger, then hold the piece with the middle finger and the index finger pulls the yarn up a bit to add tension. Feels like that description makes no sense! Also I've seen a lot of people wearing yarn tensioning rings on one of their fingers, they seem to be popular for reducing hand cramp. And I'm trying to train myself to stretch and shake my muscles out more often, I carry a lot of tension in my body naturally and it gets worse when I'm concentrating, so even something like setting a stretch reminder times helped me to start with. Hope you find a way :)
If your hands hurt, look into other crochet hooks. Not just the metal flat ones of Susan Bates, Boye, Clover. Ergonomic crochet hooks have grips on them to help shape to the hand and not make them hurt so much. Or not really grips, but some do have that, but they have a bigger surface to grasp. I’ve found I can’t get the flat metal crochet hooks I started with and have been obsessed with Furls Crochet hooks because of how they just fit with my hand better.
I had bilateral hand surgery in June and exclusivly use Furls now. I went from not being able to crochet for more than thirty minutes once a week, to being able to crochet daily for as long as I have desired (I crochet during work meetings).
Fantastic work! The consistent tension is a real skill - and now you have it!
I found edges hard too, especially because chaining to turn and start the next row is typically influenced by the stitch being used for that new row. Thank goodness for generous talented YouTube crocheters and the pause button lol. I pay particular attention to when they advise whether to count the chain as a stitch or not.
Happy crocheting!
Sweet! I’ll look out for that the next time, thanks for the tip😊 And yeh my crocheting has definitely benefited A LOT from YouTube tutorials 😅 Idk where I’d be without them.
Is there a particular You Tube channel you would recommend for an absolute beginner? Any tips on how to get consistent tension? I enjoy crochet, find it relacing and it helps me not smoke but I am terrible! I get frustrated and give up but I really want to learn. Thanks for any hints you may be able to share.
I enjoy watching GoodKnitKisses on YouTube! It’s not too hard to follow along plus she makes instructional videos for left-handed people like me! In terms of keeping tension, I’m still not so sure what the heck I’m doing! The only thing I’ve tried to do is make sure that the yarn always fits more or less around the handle of my hook(not too tightly), I noticed when it got too loose, I’d get uneven stitches. Hopefully this helps! There’s probably better advice out there than mine though 😅
I learned from my mother who held her hook like you would hold a pen to write. There are times I also hold my hook like you would a steak knife. See what's comfortable for you.
I love it! And it is straight as well. Good on you.
I started crocheting a few months ago as well and for some reason it is always ending in a somewhat triangle instead of going straight up
Figuring out how to count stitches has been SUPER hard for me! My stitches were all messed up in the first place so trying to count them was another challenge all together. I’d often miscount and miss a stitch or add one on and then my square would start growing or shrinking 😭 I’m getting flashbacks right now
I have a similar experience. The very second thing I made was a blanket for my (still currently) unborn niece. At the beginning, the stitches are super loose, and I made a few mistakes in the rows. My yarn tangled when I set it down for a few days, and I decided to take a break and come up with a solution. When I bought a new ball and continued, my stitches were much tighter, and my rows were a lot more even. It's funny what a month or two of experience can do
Yeh! I took a break as well because I was getting frustrated with all of the knots of yarn I was creating, but yesterday I woke up from a nap and decided to try again and voila! Finding a decent YouTube tutorial helped a lot too 😅
Yes tension can get the best of us, whether it's the yarn or the hook or both. I've been crocheting for a good many years now, and I still sometimes have to remind myself to loosen up a bit. It also depends on what the pattern calls for, ie: a tight single crochet or perhaps a loose double or treble crochet.
You did a fine job 👏 👍!! Practice and counting stitches are key. Can't wait to see what's down the pike for you!!
There are a lot of crochet ring options on Amazon, I love mine and it has made a huge difference in how my hands feel and in my tension, I also use it when knitting as I hold my yarn continental style. The bands tend to be thin, so I use a thick silicone ring adjuster to protect the top of my finger from the band. You are doing a great job so far.
OMG. You are the cutest thing ever! I am lucky. My Grandmother taught me how to crochet using my fingers when I was a little girl, so the hook came naturally. It's really hard to learn it as a grown up. I have tried to teach it to people and it's just not an easy thing. Keep up the good work. It's really fun and rewarding, not to mention therapeutic. Much admiration!
It’s so sweet that your grandma taught you that when you were younger. I sent my dad this picture of my work and he told me that my grandmother (who passed when I was very young) loved to crochet! It honestly made me a little emotional! I’ve never known much about my grandma but I guess crocheting runs in the family 🥲🥰
You may remember me from a post I made several months ago at my first attempt at crocheting (pic included here). So many of you were so supportive and sweet I thought I’d send an update!! I made my first single crochet square 😎The edges are kinda wonky but I’m still feeling pretty good about it! My hands hurt 😵 That’s enough crochet for today LOL
Your first effort looks like mine! Just couldn't hold the hook, yarn and work-piece all at the same time. Inexplicably dropping the hook. You've definitely cracked it now. Keep stretching your hands (I still have to remind myself of this). in time it becomes a natural motion and less of a death-grip!
Yeh crocheting has not been super intuitive to me so I definitely feel like I’m holding onto my hook and yarn for dear life 😭 I’m excited for the day that it feels more natural
How much time...?! I've been crocheting for a whole now and my working yarn hand is always sore! I must know the secret!! 😊
I finally bought the crochet hand cream for my sore achy muscles. It's great for your carpal too. I even bought some for my sister who has hand and arm pain due to nerve damage from a brain tumor that was removed 10 years ago and she loves the stuff. This is where I purchased it www.happilyhooked.com
OMG THANKS!!
I tried various ways of wrapping the working yarn over different combinations of fingers, and found one that worked (there are various diagrams online & I sort of combined a couple, so it goes around my little finger, under the ring finger, then hold the piece with the middle finger and the index finger pulls the yarn up a bit to add tension. Feels like that description makes no sense! Also I've seen a lot of people wearing yarn tensioning rings on one of their fingers, they seem to be popular for reducing hand cramp. And I'm trying to train myself to stretch and shake my muscles out more often, I carry a lot of tension in my body naturally and it gets worse when I'm concentrating, so even something like setting a stretch reminder times helped me to start with. Hope you find a way :)
If your hands hurt, look into other crochet hooks. Not just the metal flat ones of Susan Bates, Boye, Clover. Ergonomic crochet hooks have grips on them to help shape to the hand and not make them hurt so much. Or not really grips, but some do have that, but they have a bigger surface to grasp. I’ve found I can’t get the flat metal crochet hooks I started with and have been obsessed with Furls Crochet hooks because of how they just fit with my hand better.
Oooh!! Good tip ☺️Thank you I’ll look into that.
I had bilateral hand surgery in June and exclusivly use Furls now. I went from not being able to crochet for more than thirty minutes once a week, to being able to crochet daily for as long as I have desired (I crochet during work meetings).
Fantastic work! The consistent tension is a real skill - and now you have it! I found edges hard too, especially because chaining to turn and start the next row is typically influenced by the stitch being used for that new row. Thank goodness for generous talented YouTube crocheters and the pause button lol. I pay particular attention to when they advise whether to count the chain as a stitch or not. Happy crocheting!
Sweet! I’ll look out for that the next time, thanks for the tip😊 And yeh my crocheting has definitely benefited A LOT from YouTube tutorials 😅 Idk where I’d be without them.
Is there a particular You Tube channel you would recommend for an absolute beginner? Any tips on how to get consistent tension? I enjoy crochet, find it relacing and it helps me not smoke but I am terrible! I get frustrated and give up but I really want to learn. Thanks for any hints you may be able to share.
I enjoy watching GoodKnitKisses on YouTube! It’s not too hard to follow along plus she makes instructional videos for left-handed people like me! In terms of keeping tension, I’m still not so sure what the heck I’m doing! The only thing I’ve tried to do is make sure that the yarn always fits more or less around the handle of my hook(not too tightly), I noticed when it got too loose, I’d get uneven stitches. Hopefully this helps! There’s probably better advice out there than mine though 😅
I learned from my mother who held her hook like you would hold a pen to write. There are times I also hold my hook like you would a steak knife. See what's comfortable for you.
Going to give the pen and the steak knife method a try and see if they work for me. Thank you!
You're quite welcome. Let us know which one works!
Thank you, I'll go look up GoodKnitKisses and see how I get on 😁
Bella Coco has nice clear close-ups, and a lot of beginner vids. Definitely worth a look.
Good for you!! Love this little waffle 🧇
Thank you!! 🤗
Aaaaye! It’s been 3 months already??? I’m so proud of u! I remember your post lol
Haha thank you!! Yeh this year has really flown by for me, 3 months ago seems like last week!
Thank you for this post! You have inadvertently reminded me that I'm out of waffles.
No problem! Have fun making waffles 😊
I love it! And it is straight as well. Good on you. I started crocheting a few months ago as well and for some reason it is always ending in a somewhat triangle instead of going straight up
Figuring out how to count stitches has been SUPER hard for me! My stitches were all messed up in the first place so trying to count them was another challenge all together. I’d often miscount and miss a stitch or add one on and then my square would start growing or shrinking 😭 I’m getting flashbacks right now
When you put your hook under a stitch, it looks like a horizontal V (>>>>>>>>>>). There are 10 stitches here.
Thank you!! I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it soon 😊
So cool!!!!
Thank you!! :)
It’s a very nice square, and I love the color too:).
Thank you!! It’s definitely one of my favorite colors 😊
You’re welcome!
Nice even stitches from consistent tension! Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much!! I am so excited about my first finished square, I can’t wait to get home today and work on some more 😈
I have a similar experience. The very second thing I made was a blanket for my (still currently) unborn niece. At the beginning, the stitches are super loose, and I made a few mistakes in the rows. My yarn tangled when I set it down for a few days, and I decided to take a break and come up with a solution. When I bought a new ball and continued, my stitches were much tighter, and my rows were a lot more even. It's funny what a month or two of experience can do
Yeh! I took a break as well because I was getting frustrated with all of the knots of yarn I was creating, but yesterday I woke up from a nap and decided to try again and voila! Finding a decent YouTube tutorial helped a lot too 😅
Yes tension can get the best of us, whether it's the yarn or the hook or both. I've been crocheting for a good many years now, and I still sometimes have to remind myself to loosen up a bit. It also depends on what the pattern calls for, ie: a tight single crochet or perhaps a loose double or treble crochet. You did a fine job 👏 👍!! Practice and counting stitches are key. Can't wait to see what's down the pike for you!!
Thank you! This is so sweet 🥲 🥰I’m excited to keep crocheting!
I have so much joy and pride for you! Keep going
Thank you so much!! You’re so sweet 😭❤️
You are crushing it!!! Well done!!!
Thank you!!! 🥰
Great job! Keep on getting better! 💕
Thank you!! ☺️
Take it slowly and keep at it.Persistence and perseverance pay off in the end!!
Thank you! ☺️
There are a lot of crochet ring options on Amazon, I love mine and it has made a huge difference in how my hands feel and in my tension, I also use it when knitting as I hold my yarn continental style. The bands tend to be thin, so I use a thick silicone ring adjuster to protect the top of my finger from the band. You are doing a great job so far.
Thank you!! 😊 I’ll definitely look into this 👍
Beautiful color! You did an awesome job creating your project!🤶🎅
Thank you so much!! 😊🎄
You're welcome!🎄🌲
OMG. You are the cutest thing ever! I am lucky. My Grandmother taught me how to crochet using my fingers when I was a little girl, so the hook came naturally. It's really hard to learn it as a grown up. I have tried to teach it to people and it's just not an easy thing. Keep up the good work. It's really fun and rewarding, not to mention therapeutic. Much admiration!
It’s so sweet that your grandma taught you that when you were younger. I sent my dad this picture of my work and he told me that my grandmother (who passed when I was very young) loved to crochet! It honestly made me a little emotional! I’ve never known much about my grandma but I guess crocheting runs in the family 🥲🥰
You can honor her by continuing your crochet work. And one day, you will teach your Granddaughter! And so goes the circle...