Tag: crochet

I have had the worst time trying to learn how to crochet and/or knit. I can “cast on” (knitting), which goes on the needle in the dominant hand (in my case, the right). Then when you start the knit stitch, somehow I have to swap hands so the cast on needle is in my left hand, then stick the right needle in there and make some kind of magic that results in knitting. So obviously the cast on stitches fell right off, and obviously again, I threw the needles across the room.

Now for crochet…this one was a tad easier for me but I had to work in stages. The first two times I tried, I could get a chain but then no magic. The third time, I was able to get one row. The fourth time, I was able to get two rows. I have not tried again, because to get to those results required unraveling my chain at least four times.

Then…I found something called Tunisian crochet. Supposedly it is easier than both knitting and regular crochet, and results in material that resembles knitting more than crochet, and potentially uses less yarn. I do like things that use less resources…

I got my Tunisian crochet hooks yesterday (because of course I had to order them immediately). I got out the yarn from my “easy” learn to crochet kit.

So here is where the frustration starts…my initial learning resource was a 1970s Reader’s Digest The Complete Guide to Needlework. I had always enjoyed looking at this as a child, but for actual learning, vague drawings and pictures of a finished stitch just aren’t enough for me. Moreover, this book assumes one already knows regular crochet before a 1/8 page dip into Tunisian.

Thus, I headed to Google to find a tutorial. I found one that looked promising, but again, it seemed to assume I already knew how to crochet…or at least the lingo. I had instructions such as “YO [yarn over for those who also don’t know the lingo] and draw up a loop.” What? The result of this was a stranglehold on my needle and nowhere to go.

I had to ask ChatGPT to translate these instructions for me, and it happily complied. Thank goodness! So in less than an hour, I now have a few forward and return passes. Once I was able to figure out what everything meant, it turned out to be fairly easy. Other than the tension issues of course. And perhaps…actually counting my stitches correctly.

But I feel like this is going to grow into something I can actually use to make things! And not enrage me to the point I am throwing needles across the room.

Please excuse the obvious tension and miscounting issues here. And when I say this is somewhat “easy,” I don’t mean I’ll master it anytime soon. I mean that, unlike my previous attempts at knitting and crochet, I can actually imagine making something with it.

There is now a reasonable possibility of a scarf within the next six months.