Crochet guide
How to teach someone to crochet
To teach someone to crochet, show one small step, let them try it straight away, and move on only when it works. Bring a medium to large hook and smooth, light-colored yarn. Teach in this order: holding the hook, the slip knot, the chain, a first stitch, turning, counting.
On this page 8 parts
What to bring
- A hook for the learner. Choose a medium to large one, 5 mm (H-8) or a little larger.
- Yarn for the learner. Choose smooth yarn in a solid, light color, of medium weight or thicker. Dark, multicolored or fuzzy yarn hides the stitches.
- A hook and yarn of your own, so that you can show every move.
- A small piece already begun, with a few rows worked in advance. The part on a ready-made row, further down, says why.
What you need to start crocheting has more on choosing each one.
How to teach each step
Crochet is taught one step at a time. These habits apply to every step.
- Show it first. Work the step yourself, slowly, so that the learner sees how your hands and the yarn move. Keep it short, and show it again as often as it is asked for.
- Break it down. Give the smallest steps you can, and leave nothing out. A move you no longer notice is new to a beginner.
- Hand it over at once. Let the learner try straight after watching.
- Wait. Be patient, and give the learner time to work it out before you step in. Go on to the next step only when this one works.
- Keep to the basics. A first lesson needs the first stitches and nothing else.
- Praise what goes right. A learner who feels they are getting somewhere keeps practicing.
The order to teach in
Stitch names here are United States terms, with the United Kingdom name in brackets.
- Holding the hook and the yarn. Show the two usual grips, like a pencil and like a knife, and let the learner choose. There is no one right way: how to hold a crochet hook and yarn.
- The slip knot, which puts the first loop on the hook: slip knot.
- The chain. It is one move, repeated: chain stitch.
- A first stitch. Many lessons begin with single crochet (UK double crochet): single crochet.
- Turning. A row of single crochet turns with one chain: turning chain.
- Counting. Count the stitches at the end of each row and check that the number has not changed: counting stitches and rows.
How to crochet takes a learner through the same steps with pictures. It is the page to leave open between you.
Start on a ready-made row
The starting chain and the first row worked into it are the hard part for many beginners. So teachers often do that part themselves. Some teach the chain first and then make the first row of stitches for the learner. Others hand over a piece with a few rows already worked, teach the stitch on that, and leave the chain until the learner's hands are used to the hook and the yarn.
Where to sit
If you both use the same hand, sit side by side, or let the learner watch from behind you. Either way the learner sees your hands as their own will look.
If the learner uses the other hand, sit opposite each other. The learner then copies you as if in a mirror. Left-handed crochet explains what changes.
What to expect from a first lesson
- Uneven stitches. First stitches come out too tight or too loose. That is normal.
- Slow going. A first lesson will not cover everything, and it does not have to. If it stops being fun, put the work away and come back another day.
- A wish to make something. A small, simple thing the learner wants to make keeps them going. Choose something plain enough to finish: finishing a first piece is what makes a beginner want to start the next. Things to crochet lists first pieces.
Teaching a child
- There is no set age. Go by the child's interest and by how well their hands manage small movements. Wait until the child wants to learn, and do not push one who says no.
- Go large. Use a large hook and thick yarn.
- Try fingers first. If the hook is awkward, teach the chain with the index finger in place of the hook. Change to the hook once the child sees how a chain is made.
- Make something from the chain. A length of chain is already a necklace or a shoelace. A child who has made a thing wants to go on.
- Guide the hands. A very young child may need your hands together with theirs for the first tries.
- Use the child's words. Describe each move in words the child already knows.
- Keep lessons short, and do not ask for perfection. At first, making the stitch matters more than making it neatly.
Where to go next
- For the learner: how to crochet, from the slip knot to a first small piece.
- For a first thing to make: the dishcloth patterns.