Beginners´ Guide to Crochet

Welcome…to The Beginner’s Guide to Crochet! Whether you’ve never picked up a crochet hook before, or you learned to crochet long ago but haven’t tried since, this book will help you to discover (or rediscover!) the basics of these wonderfully versatile crafts. Crochet is a fantastic way to create your own accessories, as well as toys for children, stylish clothes, beautiful homewares and fab gifts for all the family. It’s quick, easy and convenient: all you need is a hook and a ball of yarn! Armed with these, you can get creative wherever you are – at home, on the bus, in a café… It’s no wonder many people find it addictive! We’ll walk you through every step with clear instructions and pictures, from choosing which yarn and hook you use to…

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The world of yarn is huge, and one of the joys of crochet is using different types of yarn – there are many fibres, thicknesses, textures and colours of yarn, each one more beautiful than the next! Note that crocheters (and knitters!) call it ‘yarn’: the word ‘wool’ specifically means the fibre spun from a sheep’s coat. When it comes to deciding on the yarn you need, size does matter. Yarn comes in different weights, or thicknesses, from the finest 1ply lace to the widely-used DK yarn, up to thick super-chunky yarns. The yarn thickness will affect the look, feel and weight of your crocheted fabric. You’ll always get the best results if you use the yarn quoted in a specific pattern, although as you gain confidence, you’ll find it’s fairly…

Crochet threads Numbered from 3 to 100, these threads are not classed as yarns. They are specially made for fine crochet work, including lace making and filet crochet. Made from mercerised cotton, the higher the number, the finer the thread (no 10 is shown below). You may need a hook from the steel range (see p12) to work them. Embroidery thread As well as specialist crochet threads, you can also crochet with embroidery threads, from stranded cottons to the finest silk threads. 1, 2 & 3ply Essentially one strand, or two or three strands of yarn twisted together, these are great for making delicate lace shawls and baby garments. Usually, 2ply yarn is worked with a 2-3½mm hook. 4ply This is a favourite weight for baby clothes, motifs and lightweight jumpers and cardigans. Double…

A ball band is the piece of paper wrapped around the yarn, where the manufacturers put all the information about the yarn. Have a look at the annotations below to see what it all means. It’s a good idea to keep your ball bands to refer back to when you wash a garment, or if you decide to crochet the same pattern again.…

HOOK SIZES Crochet hooks come in all sizes, shapes and materials. But all you really need from a hook is that it’s fairly short, thin, smooth and strong enough to enable you to turn yarn into the stitches used to make crocheted fabric. Of course, things aren’t quite that straightforward. You also need to think about the different yarn fibres you’ll be working with, your stitch tension, personal preferences, and the fact that no one hook will work for all the projects you’ll want to make, so it’s a good idea to invest in a set of several hooks. The first thing you need to know about crochet hooks is that they come in different sizes or thicknesses, just like yarn comes in different thicknesses. It’s important to use the appropriate size of…