Crochet Crafting

For some reason as a youth I decided I was interested in yarn crafting. In high school I took a home economics class. When it came time for a free project for us to work on I told my teacher I wanted to make an afghan.

She asked me if I had any idea how to crochet. I said no. She taught me some basic stitches and how to read crochet patterns. The rest is history. I made a large afghan eventually. It was white with a black border. I was working on a massive granny stitch. 

For a while I could take it out with me. Then it was just a project I worked on while on the phone or watching t.v. from home. It adorned my couches as an adult for the first few years of me living on my own. Finally a few years ago I gave it away.

I never made anything to wear for myself as a crocheter. I thought the designs looked better as home decorations I guess. Still I went on learning long after I left high school.

I started making a blanket for my daughters father before we broke up…that did not go well.

I have an afghan I started while I was pregnant that is still not finished. It just needs a border but is 177 stitches across and I am lost between the pattern and the yarn mess. It lives in a box.

The one thing crafters have in common is yarn stash. Left over skeins of yarn from projects and the ideas for projects. Mine started when I decided to do a warm up America blanket. Craft up squares to be sewn together and donated to homeless or others in need.

This was going on through a Michael’s close to my house or at least that is where I saw the flier. When no one could tell me more about who was going to collect the squares I decided to keep them and create my own blanket.

It is now in strips that need to be sewn together in a large bag in the back of my closet.

Sometimes people think it is easier to crochet than to knit. Maybe it is easier to learn on your own. Let me know what you think if you try both.

To start crocheting make a slip knot. *Insert your hook into the newly made loop. Wrap the yarn connected to the ball or skein around the hook and pull the hook with the yarn through the first loop. You have just chained one.* Repeat from star to star.

This is called chaining. Chain about 19 or 20 times. Now take your hook out of the last loop of the work.

Insert it again right into the opposite side of the stitch. You have made a chain and now you are going to go back and crochet into it.

Now that your hook is pointing back towards the chain instead of away from it insert the tip into the 3^rd to last stitch. Wrap yarn around it and bring it back through said stitch. This will leave you with two loops on your hook. Wrap yarn around it again and pull that yarn through both loops.

Insert

Wrap

Pull through

Wrap

Pull through

This is single crochet. Continue until the last stitch. At the end, chain one. Now take your hook out and turn the mini fabric line you have made. Repeat the Insert/Wrap/Pull steps. 

Chain one at the end.