Methods for improving speed?

[Sylvia Lee]

I would consider myself an intermediate-advanced crocheter. But I am also a very slow crocheter. I tend to dwell on each stitch (I read the same way- stopping to take in every single word). I was just wondering if any of you had some tips to share on how to improve crochet speed while still maintaining accuracy and uniformity with your stitches?

[salos]

Just be who you are! It's okay to crochet (or read) at whatever speed works for you. Crocheting somewhat quickly helps my stitches be more uniform. If I tried to crochet slowly, it would mess me up.

 

Since you want to speed things up, though, why don't you try abandoning the slow, careful approach for one easy project. Trust that your fingers know what they're doing, and allow yourself to break free. Then see how it turns out. If you are happy with the results, you can start being quicker with your work. Hope this makes sense, Mary

[moonspinners]

I totally agree with Mary. I do not consider myself a fast crocheter. Like my job, I go for accuracy, not speed. Plus, I have a habit - a good one, I think - of counting stitches on each row. Saves me from a lot of frogging.

[tweety256]

just remimber you can't have speed and accuracy. I have learned at my job you can one or the other but never both.

[PBLKNP]

I'm all for the be-yourself thing, too -- whatever works for you. Besides, if you try to rush, you might end up straining yourself and getting carpel tunnel syndrome or tendonitis.

[mwedzi]

Hmmm, I'm not sure. I think you can be both fast and accurate, though I guess if the pattern is a very complex one it might be better to slow down. But if you are just doing one stitch over and over, not absolutely necessary to go slow, so I understand your desire. I consider myself a relatively fast crocheter when I get going.

 

It's hard to say what might be slowing you down without seeing how you crochet. But how about trying different ways of holding the hook and/or yarn? Also, even try different ways of making stitches. For example, for a long time, the way I made a slip stitch (and truthfully, sometimes still do) was to insert the hook in the stitch and pull up a loop through the stitch, just as if I were going to do sc, and then in a separate movement pull that loop through the one already on the hook. I find I can make a slip stitch must faster, though, when I practice doing this is one fell swoop. Same thing for when I'm going from one dc to the next. I would complete the first stitch totally and then start wrapping the yarn over to start the next stitch. But recently I realized that in this particular transition, I can move smoothly from finishing one dc into wrapping the yarn over for the next in 1 fluid movement, rather than pausing from the end of one before beginning the other. It's difficult to explain in words.

 

Those are only examples, but if you examine how you are doing things, you may be able to find shortcuts or more fluid ways of doing things that should not take away from your accuracy.

 

Or find a fast crocheter and watch her/him and see how they do it. Whatever you do, don't stress yourself out about it, since this is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby.

 

Good luck.

[donnalynn2]

i agree with tweety! i tend to go fast but then I always have to frog something as i don't count correctly. be who you are but i think it's better to be accurate than fast and i wish i could make my hand slow down so i could count!

[kittin1982]

it all depends on the stiches that you feel comforatble with, plus how comfortable you are with the pattern (if you are using on). If I am just making a square of single crochets, i move much faster than if I make something with a detailed pattern. it's all a personal preference.

[TX CrochetLover]

I would rather get it right than get it fast. I am pretty slow sometimes. Well, most times! Depends on the pattern stitches. If it is a repetitive stitch you can go faster if you don't think about it, just let your fingers do the work and the mind can be somewhere else- in the zone, as I call it. Ya know when you are thinking about the person you are crocheting for, you zone in to them and the stitches just kind of follow. Anyhoo, it if is stressful, it is not crocheting as an expression of yourself or your regard for the art. ( Did I say that?! )

 

So go with the flow. Practice makes perfect. Do it right the first time and you won't have to do it again. umm, what is another maxim for living I can think of. Waste not, want not?! I like the slow hand! ( Did I say that too?!)With expertise, comes competence? Heck I made that one up!! Anyhoo, I am just joking around with it!

[Keiyla]

One of the things that slows me down with single crochet, is when I finish one stitch, I tend to push the hook back through the loop. I have no idea why. Just woosh, there it goes, about halfway up the length of the hook. Then I have to pull the hook back in order to insert it into the next stitch. A way for me to speed up is to practice NOT pushing the hook through the loop after completing a stitch. (If this slows you down, too, then good luck- I have thus far been unable to break myself of the habit!)

[faedragon]

Is there a reason why you need to crochet faster? Are you trying to finish thing on a time schedule or to meet a deadline to deliver a finished item to someone? I don't really understand the need people feel to have to do something , crochet, knit, cross stitch, etc, "faster" almost like it's a competitve sport:think There is only one of the "needle arts" that I know how to do that I would love to be able to do fast, and that's knitting, and the reason for that is that I do not enjoy:yuck or even like knitting, in fact I loathe :grumpy having to knit. But that one thing aside, I always manage to enjoy the process of just creating something and have never considered trying to crochet or cross stitch or macrame or sew "faster"

[snugsmontreal]

well i am a very fast crocheter, and i have a habit of counting my stitchs as well, it actually sometimes distracts me from the crochet even when i spend too much time counting. i agree not every pattern needs to be counted and it does actually slow me down to count too often. also i hold my hook like a screwdriver my grandpa says, unlike my grandmother who taught me she holds it like well a crochet hook *chuckle* it just took me a long time to get fast at crochet, maybe just more practice and confidence in the stitches, i do crochet while i watch tv and just go purely by feel occasionally glacing down to make sure i havent added some stitches or skipped some, which both are rare. good luck!

[salos]

Snugs, you're right about the hand position. The old fashioned "pencil" way puts a lot of strain on the wrist. The "screwdriver" hold is much better.

 

MW has some good suggestions. I know that the flow of the yarn slows me down a lot. I like the yarn to be very loose coming in, so I pull it out in strands as I go along rather than allow it to flow out of the skein. Sure would be nice to have that very loose feel without having to pre-pull the yarn. Also, the motions we make should be considered.

[Nashville Crocheter]

People tell me that I crochet fast. I'm not trying, its just how I crochet. BUT it depends on the brand of crochet hook I am using. Boyle hooks slow me down. I like Bates better, but my absolute favorite hooks are Clover Soft touch! (I only by them when they are on sale.)

 

 

So maybe try a different brand of hook just to see. Everybody has a different favorite brand.

[Sylvia Lee]

Thanks everyone for all the input; I will try your suggestions. Putting more fluidity in my stitches would probably help, as well as making my stitches a little looser (I tend to crochet fairly tightly; I'm always using a crochet hook one or two sizes larger than recommended in the pattern).

 

I hold my hook like a screwdriver, too.