Good project for beginners?

[JessyT]

Two of my girlfriends have expressed a desire to learn to crochet. They've both recently discovered nifty knitters and have been tearing through scarves and the like, and I am pretty sure they are now yarn addicts like the rest of us . However, I've never taught anyone how to crochet before. I was six or seven when I learned and honestly don't remember learning. To top it off they are both lefties and I am right handed. So far they've only watched me crochet shawls and granny squares and such. I was wondering what anyone might suggest as an easy project for someone just starting. I have offered to loan them my Happy Hooker and Encyclopedia of Crochet books. I'm hoping the latter will help with the left handed stuff because it has mirrored illustrations for everything.

 

So, do you think I should just have them make a potholder or something or maybe a granny square? I'd love any suggestions or advice! I really hope they'll pick it up so I'll have someone close by to crochet with!

[Lov2Crochet]

I just taught my SIL to crochet last weekend and I started her on a dishcloth in sc. Then I showed her how to dc and she is already working on a scarf. I say a granny square or dishcloth/washcloth.

[shelly_bean]

granny squares are always good, as well as dishcloths i have heard to teach a lefty to sit in front of them so they can mirror you. dd wants to learn to do a hat but first i told her she has to master the sc.

[athena]

my mom was the one who taught me how to crochet. she started with teaching how to make simple rounds..

[JessyT]

Thanks for the advice!

I think I'm going to make a couple of sample granny squares and sc dishcloths and let them choose. And I'm definitely going to do the sitting across from them thing. I also heard that using a plain, light colored yarn was easiest when I tried to teach myself to knit. That didn't turn out so well, but I think it was because knitting takes too darn long.

 

I'm so excited to teach them but I'm nervous too. I don't want them to get frustrated and hate it like I did with knitting! Ah, well at least we'll all get to be crafty together

 

Thanks everyone!

[hooked2]

I found some videos that show lefties crocheting at the "Art of Crochet" site. The videos cover basic as well as special (more advanced) crochet stitches and techniques (Tunisian). Looking at them might help.

[JessyT]

Ooh! Those will help a lot! Thanks for the link

[Anoula]

Just echoing what some others have already said. My college roommate taught me how to crochet 6 years ago and had me start on basic Granny squares. I didn't crochet for a long time after I graduated but a few months ago I found some of the old patterns she'd given me and they still proved to be a very useful learning tool.

[alibra]

I always thought scarves were a good beginner battern, it is repetitious and very portable.

[eebrs]

My mom had me do swatches of each stitch until I got the hang of it. After that let them pick a small item that they would like to do. They're more likely to stick with it if it's something they're excited about.

[Ladykats]

Just this weekend, one of my son's friends was over and she was bored with the guys talking about cars, I was sitting in the kitchen working on a tunisian stitch afghan I am making for Christmas. Her first question was is that hard to do? I replied Not really, but I have been crocheting for a long time. Then I was asked if I could teach her. Of course I can. So off we go to find a hook and yarn from my stash and a pattern. She wanted to make baby booties. And She made baby booties, granted we were up till 5 am making them, but we got both of them done. She was so proud of herself. Anyway, yesterday she stopped over and wanted to learn more, So I suggested something easy like a potholder or a dish cloth. Nope that was too boring. I had just bought earlier that day 99 snowflake and star designs book. So she wants to make one of time. Okay, so we get out the crochet string and steel needles and she learns a lot about gauges and different hooks for different designs and off she going crocheting her little heart out and every couple of minutes when she sees she has made a mistake, I hear crap. So she frogs the mistake and does it over. She has got to finish it one more round to go when she needed to leave. I hear see you tomorrow after your home from work and she walked out the door. Now I have tried oh so many times in the past to teach DD to crochet, and she can a little bit, but generally puts it down and in turns into a MIA. My son's friend really enjoyed doing it and stuck with it for a good 10 hours to make the booties. And another 5 hours to work on the snowflake. It felt good to teach someone.

[Tracey4610]

personally speaking as a left-hander, I was taught the right-handed method--by another lefty, my mom. She was taught by my great-grandmother, who was a righty and "old school", where left-handedness was considered "evil" . Anyway, to make a long story short, most lefties hold knives in their right hands, and it's much easier to teach crochet that way. Just tell them to hold their hooks like a knife (or, if they like, tell them like a fork--pencil doesn't work well as an analogy for me when teaching) and show them how to hold the yarn. After that, it shouldn't be too difficult. I tried to teach myself left-handed, but I stunk at it.

 

Some great projects to start out with have been the swatches, and I started my first class at church with the 1916 Plate Doily pattern from Celtwich's site--granted, you may want to retype it with modern terminology, as an sc is typed S. C., and you may want to show them how the number of scs increase every round, then decrease later. We made this pattern with yarn to make my favorite baby blanket, the Spiral Doilighan. It's only scs and chs, plus lots of practice in counting. After that, have them both pick projects they'd like to try (after you look to see how difficult it is). I recommend having them choose something from Lion Brand's site, since the vast majority of the patterns are for beginners and are quite easy to follow.

[Robynluvscrochet]

Two of my girlfriends have expressed a desire to learn to crochet. They've both recently discovered nifty knitters and have been tearing through scarves and the like, and I am pretty sure they are now yarn addicts like the rest of us . However, I've never taught anyone how to crochet before. I was six or seven when I learned and honestly don't remember learning. To top it off they are both lefties and I am right handed. So far they've only watched me crochet shawls and granny squares and such. I was wondering what anyone might suggest as an easy project for someone just starting. I have offered to loan them my Happy Hooker and Encyclopedia of Crochet books. I'm hoping the latter will help with the left handed stuff because it has mirrored illustrations for everything.

 

So, do you think I should just have them make a potholder or something or maybe a granny square? I'd love any suggestions or advice! I really hope they'll pick it up so I'll have someone close by to crochet with!

Hello, I have heard that if you crochet in front of a mirror with your students beside you looking in the mirror you will look like you are crocheting left handed and they can learn. Hope this helps.

Robyn

[JessyT]

oh! The mirror idea sounds cool! We have been so busy with the end of the summer/back to school craziness that we still haven't sat down to do anything. They seem interested in doing scarves and the like. Thanks everyone for your wonderful suggestions! ^.^

[Jeanette_Litsardaki]

Whatever the project, make sure it is small, so that they feel the "warm fuzzies" of completing something. It provides much greater insentive to keep going. Attention spans must be trained.