While scrolling through my Instagram Explore page, I came across a content creator known as “Theknottychef,” who handmakes adorable stuffed food toys such as baozi, dumplings, and mushrooms. I’ve also seen videos showing handmade crochet clothing with intricate patterns. As a child, my mom taught me how to crochet, but I eventually forgot due to lack of practice. However, because of the recent videos I saw on Instagram, I decided to give crocheting another go.
I was excited to learn crocheting again, so I jumped straight into the whole shebang without doing any research about the different sizes of crocheting needles and vast varieties of yarn available. I circled Michael’s store for a good while with my mom and settled on a ball of yarn with shades of brown, white, and sage green as well as a 5.5 mm crocheting needle.
Then, I Googled “how to crochet” and clicked on the very first result that came up: a YouTube video titled “How to Crochet for Absolute Beginners: Part 1,” by YouTuber “simplydaisy.”
From the video, I learned how to create a slipknot – needed to start my piece – and create the first chain of a piece. From the first chain, I followed the video’s instructions and learned how to make a single crochet, one of the basic stitches of crocheting.
However, while crocheting, I made an error and was left with uneven stitches that pulled too tightly. I decided to start over and my second try yielded better results. As I made stitches row by row, I began to enjoy the process. After an hour and a half, I ended up with my first complete swatch of work.
The next day, I continued with the single crochet technique, but this time making a larger piece. I made it my goal to create a scarf. I gradually began to speed up, but I noticed that my piece was curling up at the corners because it was too tight. I also started feeling pain in my right palm, which was likely caused by the way I held my needle. To counter the pain, I shifted between holding the needle like a knife and holding it like a chopstick. I continued with the single crochet again on the third day.
On the fourth day, I felt motivated for a challenge. I watched the second part of the crocheting tutorial and learned three more basic stitches: the half-double crochet, double crochet (the most common stitch), and triple crochet. Each stitch was slightly more detailed than the last, but I learned them relatively quickly, and I was excited that I was making more progress on my scarf. I also improved on spacing and noticed that the piece no longer curled. However, my piece grew slightly narrower than when I first started.
Continuing from the rows of triple crochets I created, I finished the scarf on day five by using the previous stitches I learned; I returned to double crochet, then half-double, and finally ended with single crochet rows.
Overall, I’m glad I picked up crocheting again. My piece is definitely imperfect and uneven, but I learned a new skill and now have a new hobby. Crocheting is a productive, relaxing hobby that anyone can learn, so I suggest trying your hand at it over the summer!
