To start you need some supplies. The two most important things you need is yarn & crochet hooks.

​

YARN

​

I crochet with thrifted yarn. My preference is for real wool and other natural yarns. I do, however, thrift some acrylic yarn when I am making items that are not worn on the body (like toys and bags). 

​

Don't be scared into thinking that as a beginner you need to use an "easy" yarn. 

​

The first item I made was with real wool. The 4th item I made was with mohair and silk! mohair and silk are typically considered a difficult yarn to work with, BUT in my experience, it was perfectly fine and fun to work with such a different yarn (I will share some tips and tricks). I love mohair and silk because it is light weight, but warm. 

​

Type of yarn: Like I said, I prefer natural fibers and that is what I used for most of the first projects I did and therefore I got used to working with it. When I then did use acrylic, I realized why some people say it is easier to work with. Generally speaking, real wool is a bit rougher than acrylic and acrylic or other synthetic fibers will have a sort of silky feel to them making them glide more smoothly on the hook. If like me you prefer natural fibers, I recommend using that for your first projects, because then you get used to it and that is how you learn to crochet. That being said, you can use whichever yarn you have or want to; however, I would suggest you stick to a yarn that is simple. By that I mean it does not have a halo (that fluff around some yarns like mohair). 

​

Yarn weight: Yarn goes from "lace" (usually the number 0) to super bulky (usually number 6). For your first few projects I recommend light (3) or bulkier (4 to 6). The bulkier it is the easier it is to work with (generally speaking). 

​

Because I crochet with thrifted yarn, I didn't necessarily have the weight that was being used in a pattern I was following. 

​

Tip: The lighter the yarn the smaller the item will be, and you may need to add stitches or rows. You can also double up the yarn to make it bulkier (I have done this loads of times when I don't have bulky yarn). 

​

Yarn color: Pick whichever color you like or find in the thrift store, but note that lighter colors are easier to learn with. You can see the stitches more clearly using a light color. 

​

Crochet Hooks 

​

I bought a pack of 14 crochet hooks and they have worked wonderfully for me. 

​

This is the pack I have.

​

This set goes from 2mm to 10mm. I mostly use 3 to 6mm hooks for all my projects. 

​

Some projects will state the UK hook size - you can simply look up the metric size and use that one. 

​

Learning the basics

​

The basics you need to learn are:

1. A slip knot 

2. Chain stitch 

3. Slip stitch 

4. How to count chains and stitches 

5. A single crochet 

6. A double crochet 

7. A half double crochet 

8. Increasing stitches 

9. Decreasing stitches 

​

Most patterns will require a slip knot to start and then you chain a certain number as the starting point and then you start to crochet, usually with a single, double or half double crochet. You can learn to increase and decrease if and when that is required by a project you are doing and once you are used to doing the basic stitches. 

​

For my first project I made baby slippers, and it required decreasing stitches. 

​

A resource I definitely recommend having on hand is this book: 

​

It is very affordable and includes everything you need to know. 

You can quickly look things up when working on projects. 

I only recently purchased it and I know this would have helped me 

so much if I had it from the onset of learning. 

​

Just a heads-up: This page contains affiliate links.

If you make a purchase through them, I may earn a small commission

—thank you for your support!

​

​

​

​