Positively Crochet!

Alllllllrighy. So, today I have an exciting new post about crocheting!
Now, if you're my age and you're thinking that crocheting is some sort of "granny craft", fear not! I am here to change your mind.
I started crocheting when I was about 12, but I honestly didn't have enough patience to continue. Basically, I gave up and eventually picked it back up a few years later. Now, I love it so very much! It's awesome to be able to create something new and unique that nobody else has. If you think about it, a good number of scarves and hats that are in the stores are either crocheted or knitted-by a machine no less. Why spend $14 on something everyone else will probably have? For less than that (unless you buy some rare designer yarn) you can make something different and change it up a bit.

If you're thinking "Gee, you convinced me. Maybe I should try it!" let me give you some tips that I've concocted in my brain...don't look so surprised! I can come up with a good point if I want to! ;)

1. don't attempt to follow a pattern until you've mastered the basic, most common stitches. (single crochet, double crochet, chain 1) To even start learning how to do the stitches, you need to learn how to start, and how to chain. (google it!)
2. Start by just crocheting a square or some sort of scrap piece.
3. Youtube is your friend! I can't tell you how much I've used it with crocheting. If you're in the stages of a pattern and come across a stitch you don't know, please, please, please, don't try to guess. Just put the name of the stitch in the little youtube search bar and watch 2-3 videos on it.
4. Don't let the foreign language that is a crochet pattern, scare you. I wouldn't do a pattern for the longest time because of the crazy abbreviations. If you've ever looked at a crochet or knit pattern, you know what i'm talking about. If you have questions or any doubts about anything, don't guess. Instead, google it!
5. Be patient. I'm telling you right now, if your starting a pattern you're probably going to have to rip it out and start over a few times before it looks like anything but a wadded up chunk of yarn. I hate pulling my stitches out and restarting more than anything else, but I would rather tear them out and fix them, then have a boo boo spot on the project I have worked so hard on.
6. If you've been crocheting for a while and have made some things from patterns, you're probably getting sick of the same old, same old free patterns that are floating around out there. I was too. Here's the solution: Buy pattern books! Now, I'm not talking the pattern books in craft stores, not that those are bad, but if you're searching to make something that looks like it came straight from a boutique, then you'll want to browse the internet. My mom, aka my partner in crime, ordered us some books online. She got them from amazon in a bundle for about $30. I love amazon, because their fast and you get what you order sometimes in 2-3 days (depending on what it is and where it's being ordered from) I'll put an amazon link for those books down at the bottom of this post.
7. Enjoy yourself! pick out your favorite colors of yarn, find patterns that make you excited, and be proud that you have the coordination to make your own stuff!

 Okay so now for some book, yarn, and free pattern sites that you might want to look into:

Books:

 

Free Online Patterns:

crochetme.com

lionbrand.com

dailycrocheter.com

Online Yarn Companies:

knitpicks.com

yarn.com

If you have any questions just holler at me. I'm going to make some stitch tutorial videos here pretty soon, so check back frequently.

Toodles,

Brittany Lou :)