Learn the stitches, tools, and techniques you need to get started with crochet! In this course produced by Bluprint-the popular online educational site dedicated to creative projects of all types-you join author and popular blogger Kim Werker as she provides step-by-step instruction for getting started-from selecting the right yarn and deciphering tricky yarn labels to properly holding your hook and working yarn. You'll love Kim's down-to-earth approach as she teaches you a basic chain stitch and demonstrates single, double, and half-double crochet and the slip stitch! Learn how to work in rows, keep your crochet on track, and troubleshoot rows gone wrong. Then, learn three different ways to get started working in the round and become comfortable reading patterns! Finally, combine your new skills to create a charming granny square blanket you'll be proud to display or give.
Crochet: Basics and Beyond
Learn the stitches, tools, and techniques you need to get started with crochet! Join author and popular blogger Kim Werker as she provides step-by-step instruction for getting started.
Rated 5 out of
5
by
ciara from
helpful
I was given this video to watch so I could learn how to crochet and I have some kinks to work out but other than that I love crocheting now.
Date published: 2024-03-01
Rated 5 out of
5
by
kim kemal from
Great teacher, uses tech to give you closeups
This instructor knows how to go slow, repeat, show it again, step by step.
I have been a mad-keen crocheter for <mumble> years, and focus on the functional, use specialty yarns for gifts, but mix and match my favorite six or so stitch patterns. These days do tons of freebees for homeless and low-income folks, where there is so much need, using donated, warm yarns, no fancy frills that need care or maintenance. In all my years, I would occasionally wish I knew a few new stitches, and would learn a few, but - never learned the granny square. [Never liked the granny products.] Recently, I've been reading crochet mags in the online library and seeing ways to Square in new ways... so I watched this class, end to end. And learned the square!
Date published: 2023-02-05
Rated 5 out of
5
by
JudiAnn from
Great teaching
A well taught course. Many wonderful tips. I especially liked ones that were discovered as she crocheted
Date published: 2022-11-29
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Ancient Mariner from
A Good Start
I bought the course about a month ago. Add the "Improve Your Crochet" course right away if it's still on the sale.
Get a set of Susan Bates Soft Ergonomic crochet hooks, a ball of good medium weight, brightly colored crochet yarn, a copy of "Everyday Crochet" by June Gilbank and go to it.
Don't waste your time and money budget sets for sale on line containing 10+ hooks, scissors, stitch markers, etc. Just get the Bates hooks.
A small cloth bag will do to hold the hooks, yarn and your work until you want to go further. There are also tons of online tutorials to help you.
Don't make your loops too tight and small. Leave room to work. A common beginner mistake which afflicted me. Watch the lecturer's hands carefully. Getting the basic yarn holding and working with your hands is tough.
Date published: 2022-11-23
Rated 4 out of
5
by
NanaG from
Good tips
I hadn't crochet and sometime and was having problems with my new projects. This course helped refresh my memory and pick up some new tips.
Date published: 2022-11-17
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Burgi from
Great visuals.
I liked her demeanor, and her patience. She made things easy to understand.
Date published: 2022-03-25
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Fiddletime from
Crochet for a serial beginner
I’ve tried to learn crochet before, using books, YouTube, friends…but this time I think it might work. The instructor is so encouraging, so practical, and so gently humorous that finally the steps and the stitches seem clear to me.
Date published: 2022-02-24
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Jbob2 from
Crochet: Basics and Beyond
I like this DVD a lot because I can relate to the presenter. For a flat-out beginner, crochet is very challenging at first. I'm still in the "at first" stage and refer to it repeatedly. My fingers find the movements challenging, but the presenter leads us toward our goal. I'm confident I can learn this skill.
Date published: 2021-11-05
Overview
About
Kim Werker is a writer, editor, instructor and maker who has tapped into the immense power of the internet through blogging, teaching and running the online magazine-turned-social-media-network Crochet Me. Aside from her Web-based endeavors, Kim was also the editor for Interweave Crochet from 2006 to 2008. You might recognize her from her multiple books, including Make It Mighty Ugly, a project about shrugging off the negative internal voices that hamper individual creativity.
Trailer
01: Getting Started
Meet your instructor, Kim Werker, as she introduces you to the world of crochet. Learn about yarn, hooks, and other tools and start with the most basic crochet stitch: the chain stitch. Kim will offer advice for how to hold your hook and show you the way she tensions her yarn.
25 min
02: The Basic Stitches
Now that you feel comfortable using a hook and creating a basic chain stitch, move on to the fundamentals of crochet: the single, half double, double, and treble crochet stitches. Kim will walk you through each stitch, one at a time, and show you exactly how it is formed. Examine the anatomy of each stitch and learn to recognize and prevent common mistakes.
30 min
03: Working in Rows
Build your stitches into fabric as you learn to create the foundation chain, the beginning of any piece worked in rows. Learn how to work into the chain and keep crocheting as you turn your work to create rows of beautiful textured fabric. Then, finish your first swatch as you learn to fasten off and weave in your ends.
34 min
04: Troubleshooting Row Work
Did your swatch not turn out exactly as you had expected? No problem. This lesson is all about discovering what can go wrong and how to avoid making the same mistake in the future. Witness how losing or adding stitches and improper hook insertion affect the shape of your fabric as Kim shows you how to fix mistakes and offers tips for keeping them from happening again.
20 min
05: Working in the Round
Now that you're comfortable working in rows, expand your crochet abilities to include round projects as well! Kim will show you how to create fabric that spirals out from the center as you learn three ways to start rounds: chain ring, expanding slip knot, and magic adjustable ring. Learn to increase stitches and calculate how many you'll need to add from one round to the next to create a flat circle.
29 min
06: How to Read a Pattern
Get a crash course on pattern reading as Kim takes you through the written directions for a granny square blanket and also shows you how to read a crochet diagram. Learn common pattern abbreviations and how the stitch symbols in a diagram help you visualize your stitches. Then, Kim challenges you to make your first granny square using the pattern only!
16 min
07: The Granny Square
How did that granny square turn out? Need a little more help? Don't worry. Kim will diagram the elements of a granny square then walk you stitch by stitch through each round as you watch her square form before your eyes. Learn how to turn the corner and join each round, and how the granny square pattern builds on itself to create a relaxing item to crochet.
31 min
08: Rounding Out Your Knowledge
Finish your exploration of crochet with the essential techniques that will take your stitches to the next level. Learn how to change colors in the middle of a round and at the end of a row. Discover how to measure gauge so that your projects always end up the right size and learn how simple changes in the way you make stitches can create fabric with a completely different look. Finally, learn how easy it is to decrease and witness the curvy, flowing fabric that can be created quickly and easily in crochet!
25 min
