An Old Fashion, Handmade Christmas Week No. 3 Of Crocheting and Yarn

Dearest Readers~

Yay! This week, I am so excited to announce it's....Crocheting!!! I know, many of you do not know how to crochet, but I hopefully, will be giving you the basics that you can try. I will be setting up a linky this week, but if you do not want to, you do not have to join.

You may post tutorials on your blog from Youtube that are not yours.

~How to Crochet: The Basics~

Crocheting is a hard art to perfect; in my opinion, it is much harder than knitting, but once you get the technique of holding the yarn and getting comfortable with your needle, all crocheting really is...are loops! It is really easy to make a more complex project with crocheting.

Crochet is made up of several stitches, that can be combined into more complex stitches like the puff stitch...there are hundreds of combinations out there. To-day I will be posting a few videos to help you get started including the basic chain stitch, single crochet, slip stitch, double crochet, and half double crochet. Overwhelming? You will get used to it, and we will take it one step at a time before getting to the projects. Besides, when you get better and head on over to the projects, Youtube has great videos when it comes to foreign stitches. Like say the rib stitch which you will need to know the different way of crocheting a single crochet.

The most common stitch that I would recommend starting with is the double crochet, which will be the most widely used. And really, crocheting needs A LOT of practice. When I first started crocheting, I ended up with the most irregular shaped items!!!:D

There are a lot of different methods when it comes to crocheting, so do not be surprised if you bump into a different way of crocheting!:)

How to Hold Your Yarn and Needle

Holding your yarn and needle can be the most tricky thing about the art of crocheting. At first, you may think that it does not matter, but the tension of the yarn when working on something greatly affects the outcome of the project. For instance, if I crochet a tighter stitch my project will probably be smaller than the recommending size. That's called the gauge, but we will not be going into crocheting language today. Here is a video on how to hold your yarn

{Note: I do not loop my yarn over my index finger several times like this woman does in the video, but really however, you are comfortable with holding the yarn, then that's fine}

~Chain Stitch~

YOU WILL WANT TO KNOW THIS!!!:) This is the base of your project.

~The Single Crochet~

The single crochet is one of the most basic stitches.

~Double Crochet~

The Double Crochet Stitch is one of the most widely used stitch. I HIGHLY recommend just sitting there for a few minutes, and crochet a few rows of this stitch to get used to it.

~Half Double Crochet~

Even though Half Double Crochet's name may be the longest, it is really quite simpler than the double crochet.

~Slip Stitch~

This Stitch joins accompanying stitches.

~~~~~Projects~~~~

After you accomplish some of the basics, now you can mix and match to crochet a project! Here are some neat projects I thought you might like to see. The BEST FIRST PROJECTS ARE the simple dish cloths or wash cloths. Just row after row after row of a double crochet is great practice, plus a fun way of making dish cloths.

Here are some fancier gifts that you may like:

~Crocheted Flower~

This is actually a very similar tutorial to my tutorial that I use. You probably will have to watch it a few times before catching onto the instructions. {No sound}

~Spa Soap Bag~

Such a fancy soap bag!

~Easiest Baby Booties EVER!!!~

This is only part of a very long all-video tutorial, so you will have to log onto Youtube and watch the whole thing there. This guy is great for step-by-step tutorials for beginners, showing you each row which will be crocheted. This is results in an ever so tiny booty which will probably not fit a six month old, therefore, you are going to have to improv. on the pattern.

This is however, the best tutorial for baby booties because you do not have to increase or decrease, just crochet!:)

~Baby Ballet Slippers~

These are SO cute!!!

Part I

Part II

Part III

~Baby Socks Edging~

Great gift for the holidays!:)

~Fingerless Gloves~

Are great for those cold seasons. This is one of my current projects. I am actually extending the length of the 'sleeve,' which is one of the great things about crocheting when you get better is you can improv. on projects.

~'Fancy' Headband~

This tutorial calls for a few more challenging stitches where you may have to do some research on the stitches for more info.

~Simple Headband~

This is a great starter project because it is a small width for the band using simple, basic stitches.

~"Fancy" Crocheted Flower~

This is a rather challenging flower, if you ever want to conquer a more challenging project, here you go:

~ Miniature Christmas Stocking~

This is SO cute!

I hope you enjoyed this week's tutorials, and that you soon learn how to crochet! It is such a fun and relaxing art once you catch on, or should I say...cast on!:)

Many Blessings,
Grace

P.S. Giveaway coming soon, hopefully!:) Oh, and comment if you link up, so I can see your posts!;)