I'm not sure if there's already a post like this...

[RainbowBrite]

I'd like to know how and/or why everyone first started crocheting.

 

I always thought it was so cool when I was younger and I finally learned about a year ago when I found out my friend knew how.

[sandra2469]

I can't even remember why I started - maybe I was just bored one day & I asked my mom to teach me. Maybe I saw her & my aunt at one of their famous crochet get-togetheres and decided it would be fun to join in one day. Whatever the reason, both of them taught me when I was 11 or 12 & I'm the only one I can think of in my family who has really stuck with it. My mom passed away last year & my aunt has too many health challenges and doesn't do much any more.

[CroJulee]

I was taught how to crochet when I was approx. 5 years old after watching my grandma crochet so many cool things. I just couldn't resist. I'm so glad she taught me. Everyonce in a while when I'm talking to her on the phone I'll tell her that she created a monster when she taught me how to crochet.

 

Julee

[DawnofMarch]

I felt really guilty about not visiting my friends and family down in California this last year, so when I found out that the sister of my BFF was pregnant I started thinking, what could I send down in the event that I can't come down myself, that isn't some stupid store bought item that really has no meaning?

 

The first thing that came to mind was a handmade baby blanket.

 

I didn't even consider learning to knit, because if I recall correctly that was even more frustrating the first time I tried to learn, and besides, both my friend and her sister have a grandma who crochets and I would be the only one interested if I happened to go along with them to their grandma's house. (I am practically family to them as I very nearly was legally part of the family, if only my own mother weren't so stubborn.)

 

So I went ought, bought some yarn and a cheap plastic hook and took it home, watched a youtube video and started to learn. Then I found this place!

[RainbowBrite]

So I went ought, bought some yarn and a cheap plastic hook and took it home, watched a youtube video and started to learn. Then I found this place!

 

That's about the same here. I found this crochet kit at K-Mart that came with a sparkly purple hook and some yarn, but the instructions were kinda hard to follow. My friend taught me how to single crochet and for about 6 months that's all I could do. I finally looked up videos on youtube, and now I'm a crocheting fool. I've also learned how to knit, and use one of those knifty knitter looms by watching youtube videos.

[adirtyspoon]

My aunt tried to teach me when I was 9, I couldn't do it. I wanted to learn again because I wanted to knit and had no one to teach me, so she taught me how to crochet and it finally stuck this time. Then I taught myself how to knit when I realized how easy everything was.

[HomekeepingGran]

The mother of a former college roommate learned some crochet basics and she started to teach the two of us how to make a granny square when I was newly married and visiting my girlfriend's family. I remember that both of us went back home and showed our husbands our new "skill". Bonnie played with it for a while but never kept on. I did. Funny, but her mother quit crocheting, too. So far as I know I am the only one of the bunch who kept it up. After Mrs. H. taught us a tiny bit that weekend,I bought a magazine with some how-to instructions and learned the rest on my own. Basically I am self-taught but never would have begun it but for Mrs. H.

[KellieD]

I picked up a hook when I was about twelve and learned through trial and error. I think it was because I saw a sweater I wanted to make. The sweater turned out great even though my starting chain was tight. Oh, well. I didn't have hips then!

[Cliffnote]

I love crocheting because its so relaxing, I feel good when I finish my projects and I see the end results. My 4th grade teacher tried to teach us, but all that stuck with me was how to chain. After that I never really thought about it again, although I did want to learn still. It wasnt until years and years later. My nightbor taught me single and double crochet. From there I taught myself everything else.

[kkrausern]

my mom taught me when i was about 7 or 8--i reember taking a hook and yarn to school in 3rd grade. i hated recess so instead i would find a corner and crochet. i made alot of red/orange/yellow scarves and barbie clothes(it was the 70's you know) i dabbled in crochet for a few years, and when i got married in my early 20's decided to start thread crochet, and cranked out dozens of doilies.

 

then the kids came along, and i forgot about crochet trying to raise 2 kids a year apart!! i restarted crocheting about 10 years ago. i now feel very proficient in all forms of crochet, and have even adjusted patterns to fit my style.

 

my mom died last year after a long bout with renal cancer, and i miss taking to her about our projects. she was able t crochet unitl about 8 months before she died--even started a baby blanket for her newest granddaughter, who was born just before she died. i was able to finish it for my sweet little niece Danica, and she has a blankie from gramma bev and aunt karen.

 

i haven't had the heart to start going thru all my moms patterns and books on crochet. she also was a knitter, but really enjoyed crochet more. some day i will be able to sort thru her things. i do have a few patterns she hand wrote for me, and i cherish them.

 

thanks for the question!! what a nice walk down memory lane for me!!

[amylu]

My mom taught me when I was younger. I did a little crocheting here & there... but I started doing alot when I became pregnant with my son in 2005. Since then, I now mostly crochet things that become gifts for family or friends, or donations (baby hats for our local hospital).

For me, it relaxes me

[KarrieMcD]

I found a cute pattern for mice in little outfits. So looked what materials I needed, purchased a book on how to crochet. At the time we were about to go camping at the coast so took it with me. Dh was surf fishing and I sat on the beach and taught myself. By the time we came home I have made a mouse.

KARRIE

[brenoreo]

I was 21 and very lonely from having moved away from my family. One day in a variety store, I came across a "teach yourself to crochet" book, and the rest is history. First I taught myself to knit, then to crochet. Once I learned crochet, I never picked up the knitting needles again.

[HappyOldCro]

I was 7, and at that time part of the school dress code was boys had to have a hankie stuffed in shirt pocket, and girl's wore them pinned to their dress or blouse.

Grandma had always made doilies, curtains, tablecoths, bedspreads, etc.

One day one of the girls had a hankie that had this lovely pink lace all around the edge, so I went home and told grandma I wanted one like it.

She pulled out her hooks and some gorgeous fine thread, and within a few months I was making my own. I still have those hooks (2 of the size 14 hooks, of which one is slightly bent on the end, due to my impatience with the hook getting stuck in the fine linen hanky).

I can still see us sitting at the big livingroom window next to the radiator, hooking away...

[RainbowBrite]

Wow guys, what great stories. They are all really interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[beth_in_indy]

My wonderful Grandmother taught me to crochet when I was about 10, and I crocheted sporadically until graduating from college. It became the medium that was easiest for me to create in, especially dolls (which is also a passion of mine). Crochet relaxes me, and gives me such a creative kick. My Grandmother was a wonderful woman, and her best gift to me was teaching me to crochet! Beth

[ArielManx]

I come from a long line of crafty women, on both sides of the family. My maternal grandmother knew how to crochet, but wasn't very patient for teaching. My dad's cousin (who was and remains like an aunt to me) is a very talented crocheter, and used to make the most incredible doilies. I really wanted to learn how to make them, and I was around 11 when I asked her if she'd teach me. She said, "Oh, I think that would be too hard for you, I'll teach you to knit instead." Well, I didn't want to learn how to knit, I wanted to crochet! I knitted a few coasters out of RHSS and that was it - I lost interest and went back to my embroidery.

 

Fast forward about 15 years. My husband and I had moved to Montana, and without our friends and family close-by I had a lot more free time. I was itching to be crafty again - during high school and then college, I'd had little if any time for my embroidery, and had sometimes even put it away for a couple years at a time. I also finally had a place to display my paternal grandmother's glass and china, and wanted nice doilies to go in the china hutch. So I went to Michael's and bought a Susan Bates learn-to-crochet kit, and found a couple used pattern books at Hastings. My first project - a scarf - was so sad! LOL It was worked lengthwise, and I forgot to count my stitches, so the ends weren't even, and I crocheted it so tightly that it hardly had any drape, but I was proud, and my husband was so impressed! I kept at it, and things really started improving once I bought some Boye hooks. That was in early 2005 and I haven't stopped since.

 

My maternal grandmother passed on almost two years ago, and my mom and I split up her crafting things (Mom's sisters only sewed, and none of my female cousins do anything crafty, sadly). Among the hooks was a blue, well-loved size J Boye, which has since become my favorite hook. I use it for almost everything! Grandma was so proud of my crochet work and other crafts, and it feels so good to use that old hook of hers.

 

So there's my long story of why I wanted to start crocheting, and when I actually did! The funny thing is... I've still never made those doilies! LOL And at this point I don't know that I will, since I inherited enough from Grandma to line the shelves of the china hutch.

[quiet dissident]

My grandmother and mother both crocheted, and I naturally wanted to learn. I learned when I was 11; I was being homeschooled, and my grandma had recently retired, so it worked out nicely. My first project was a lumpy potholder, then a dishcloth, and it's only spiralled into bigger, more ambitious projects like baby blankets and then full-size blankets for my friends' weddings.

 

I've only very recently learned knitting (and am still learning as I go), but crocheting is so familiar now that the learning curve for knitting feels steeper than it probably is...

[thepunkrockinchick]

Well, when I was younger it was because I was stubborn and I had it set in my mind that I was going to do it, no matter how frustrated I got! Thankfully, that has progressed into enjoyment. I never crocheted a ton until I had my son almost 1 year ago. I realized how precious my free time was when I started to have so little of it. I feel like I'm wasting time if a hook is not in my hand. Having my son turned my love of crochet into an obsession.. and an obsession of yarn!

[Elle]

I was 10 years old. My grandmother had known how to crochet for many years. My mother and my aunt decided they wanted to learn. Our family was always very close, and the kids were included in everything the adults did, it was never a case of "no, this is just for grown-ups".

 

When Mom and my aunt decided they wanted to learn, I decided that I'd like to learn as well, so a few times a week we would gather around the kitchen table at my aunt's house (my grandmother lived with her and my uncle) and we would crochet. We started off learning how to make granny squares and went on to other, more complicated things as our skill grew.

 

I was never content to just do things as I was shown. I decided almost immediately that I didn't like the way the granny squares were coming out the way we were doing them, so instead of doing 2 ch in between the groups of 3 along the sides and 3 ch on the corners, I did one ch between the groups of 3 along the sides and only 2 ch at the corners. It made the squares a lot tighter looking. That was it, I was HOOKED! Literally!

 

We stuck with granny squares for quite a while, each making a couple of afghans and some other things, and then I (the pioneer) decided that there had to be other things out there besides granny square afghans and other flat things, so I decided to teach myself how to read patterns. At the age of about 14, I taught myself, and subsequently, my mom and my aunt, how to read them also.

 

My aunt never did go much beyond afghans and the occasional pair of slipper socks, maybe a poncho or two. My mom got into amigurumi way before anyone had ever even heard the word. She made all kinds of little animals and dolls, the most adorable clown finger puppets, a set of Christmas carolers that fit over styrofoam cones, the most adorable turkey I've ever seen, Pilgrim dolls, a leprechaun, a pumpkin, kitchen witches soaring around on little corn brooms, you name it, she made it. I lost my mom in 1986, and it breaks my heart to say that I also lost all of the beautiful little toys that she made in a flood three years later. They are all indelibly etched into my brain, though, and I keep my eyes peeled constantly for those vintage patterns because I intend to remake the things as I find them. They might not be the ones made by her hand, but they will be there for me to use at the holidays to remember her by.

 

My grandmother passed in 1989, and unfortunately, she stopped crocheting before I reached adulthood, so the only thing I had that she made me was a child's poncho that I gave to my aunt to preserve so that it didn't suffer the same fate as the pieces my mom made. My aunt guards everything like a mother bear, so I know it's safe, even though it's 600 miles away from me.

 

My aunt still crochets, but she never did get adventurous, although she has made some lovely afghans over the years.

[grannyzkraftz]

I remember watching my grand mother as she made some of the most amazing things with her hands. One day she took the time and much effort i am sure to teach an 8 year old. My mom later bought me som crochet hooks and believe it or not 40 years later I still have and use those hooks. I havent ever been able to follow a pattern i just winged it after my mother passed away i decided to teach myself to follow a pattern i am so amazed by everything i can do now and now i can look at something in a book and instead of saying i wish i could make that i say hey i can make that i am not sad that i didnt know how to follow patterns sooner for i think if i had maybe i would have lost interest im not sure but i know this all happened now for a reason so i will roll with it and enjoy each and every stitch i make

 

Janny

[darski]

When I was about 6 years old, the Irish rose potholders were all the rage. those little pink roses on the green and white base :dreaming ...it was just too tempting so I whined until my aunt and my gramma taught me to make them. Yes my first project was an Irish rose motif.

I was born to be a reader so I was able to make sense of pattern books fairly early on as well.

 

I have gone through crochet hiatus times but it was always there for me to pick up and go anytime I chose.

[Yarnluver]

I somehow missed this great thread, what great stories!! So I decided to post too thus bringing up on the list and to the attention of other crocheters.

 

When I was a young child my mother had this wonderful thread bedspread that had been given to her as a wedding gift by a little old lady who crocheted and I was totally fascinated by it. My Mom actually crocheted for a while, making doilies I believe, and I asked her to teach me so she showed me how to make chains and I remember making a very long one but maybe because I was still too young I couldn't learn real stitches. Years later I didn't seem to be any good for any of the crafts taught by the nuns in Catholic school so I really gave up BUT after I got married and came to live in the U.S. I encountered so many ladies that were "crafty" that I decided to learn sewing (took a class), embroidery and crochet (learned both with books). I can't remember what I really made right at first other than acrylic potholders:eek, but later I began copying doilies and when I was going to have my son one of my SIL who crocheted taught me a special stitch and I began making a blankie, only during my 5th month I began getting cramps and numbness in my hands and had to quit and she had to finish it for me.

 

In the past I stopped crocheting for years at a time at least twice but one of those times I'm sure it was because I'd involuntarily left all my hooks/yarn behind. When I moved to FL over 11 years ago I brought what little I had with me always with the thought of restarting some day. I tell you that as the years went by I though I never really would but now I'm so happy that I have!! This time around I'm enjoying it SO much I know I will never quit and since neither one of my grandmothers crocheted, like in those great stories, I hope someday I'll be the first grandma in my family to teach her grandkids.

 

 

[Atrella3crochet]

what a great question!! i have always felt crafty... but i never really found anything that i LOVED to craft. then about seven yrs agoi wanted to quit smoking so my boyfriend/husband nows mom suggested that i try to pick up crocheting... i went to wal-mart got a "i taught myself to crochet book and since NO ONE in my family crochets it was pretty horrific. my first project was a scarf for my mom. she still has it and it is still UGLY!! well i went at it by myself for a few yrs never bought patterns just made up my own stuff but all i knew was the db and single crochet. sooo many yrs later i learned the granny square from a lady at my motherinlaws church so i pumped out baby afgans by the dozen. now VERY recently i have made a few things from patterns tho i still like to just make stuff up. however my fave way to learn new stitches or find cool projects is YOU TUBE there is this lady named teresa and she is an amazing crochet instuctor! she even teaches left handed stitches!! i am not left handed but i think its cool that those leftys out there have someone out there helping anyway now i am working on a bathing suit (one for my sister and one for me) and two afgans!! one to be completed by the end of may (my sisters birthday) and the other a rebel flag afgan for a friend of my that needs to be done by his birthday too. luckaly its not til october so i have plently of time. sorry for the long reply i just got sooo excited when i read this, it truly was a great question! thank you!

[CLLinda]

My grandma taught me the basics when I was a teenager. I put it down for a while, until I got married and then was having my first baby. Because we were trying to buy a house and move, I couldn't really "Nest" like everyone else. So I took some classes at LeeWards and made baby blankets. Once the kids were here, I needed a way to relax. I picked up a hook, and haven't put it down for longer than a day or so.

 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.