Everything You Need To Know About… Crochet

Whether you’re a seasoned stitcher or keen to pick up a new hobby, Everything You Need To Know About Crochet covers, well, everything you need to know to get creative with crochet! From what you need in your kit bag, which yarns to choose and the essentials for getting started to edging, granny squares and mastering motifs – our easy-to follow instructions will have you crafting in no time. Refresh your memory or start from scratch and by the end of this book you’ll have all the knowledge to put your skills to the test and complete our fun and simple projects, such as a baby blanket, a cute amigurumi toy, or a basket to house all of your crochet tools. Your stitching journey awaits, just turn the page!…

amigurumi The Japanese art of making 3D crochet toys. Amigurumi almost always involves working in the round, creating spheres which are stitched together and stuffed with fibrefill. asterisk* A symbol used to mark a point in a pattern row, usually at the beginning of a set of repeated instructions. back loop (BL) only A method of crocheting in which you work into only the back loop of a stitch instead of both loops. back post (BP) stitches Textured stitches worked from the back around the post of the stitch below. ball band The paper wrapper around a ball of yarn that contains information such as fibre content, amount/length of yarn, weight, colour and dye lot. block A finishing technique that uses moisture to set stitches and shape pieces to their…

To begin crocheting, all you need are two essential pieces of equipment: a crochet hook and a ball of yarn. The yarn that you decide to use will play a part in determining which hook you will work with, so let’s start by looking at the many types of yarn available to you. Yarns are made with a wide variety of fibres; most are natural, some are synthetic, and others blend different fibres together. All yarns have different textures and properties, and will affect the look and feel of your finished project. For example, wool is stretchy and tough, alpaca is soft and luxurious and natural and synthetic blends are durable with other enhanced properties. When choosing a yarn you also need to consider its thickness, usually called its weight.…

Different crochet hooks are designed with various factors in mind, from the type of project you will be working on to the level of grip and comfort required. Most importantly, crochet hooks come in different sizes, and the size of hook you use – while most of the time being determined by the weight of the yarn you are working with – will determine the look of your finished project. In general, the thicker the yarn you use the larger the crochet hook you will need, but using a large hook with a fine yarn can also produce an interesting, delicate fabric. Crochet hooks are produced in different materials – mainly metal, wood and plastic – and some come with comf y-grip or ergonomic handles. Finding the right hook for…

TOP TIP! If you need to use a stitch marker but don’t have one to hand, a scrap of yarn tied in a loop around the stitch or even a bobby pin make pretty good substitutes.…

While most crochet patterns are written for people crocheting with their right hand, it’s easy to make them applicable for left-handed crocheters. As left-handed crochet produces a mirror image of right-handed crochet, there are just four instructions that need to be reversed – and these can be seen in the table on the next page. By following these simple rules, you will be able to crochet almost everything that a right-handed crocheter can with ease. The only differences will be that diagonal details slant the other way and spirals will rotate in the opposite direction, but this will rarely cause significant problems. To see what your finished piece will look like, or to follow a technique tutorial, simply hold the image up to a mirror. This will show the left-handed…