My First Crochet Stitch

I have been telling myself that I was going to start crocheting for some time now.  Like many other things, it just kept getting put off. A few months back I was on listia and saw a “Beginner Knit & Crochet First Projects” booklet including a crochet needle for only a few listia points. So, I bid and won the auction.

When it arrived it came with a 4/E needle, a tiny bit of pink yarn, and the booklet. I quickly flipped through the booklet and found it had a couple of project patterns and even a few pictures of how to stitching. But the problem was there was no helpful hints on starting! I knew nothing so I needed the very first step demonstrated. So, I was a bit disappointed and put it away for awhile.

Then I just recently started on pinterest and found the best pin ever!

She breaks it down from the first step of getting the yarn on the needle, “the slip knot”.  Then we proceeded on with “the chain” and then onto the “four chain”. There is a simple circle from the “four chain” including a “slip stitch”. She finishes up with a modified “treble”. Included are little tips like the slip knot is not counted as a stitch, counting the chain, and so on.

Let me tell you what I’ve learned. I figured I would just grab some yarn I already had instead of the little bit of pink from my listia booklet. The yarn I had was black left over from who knows what. It is the basic run of the mill smaller yarn. Number one, start with some thicker larger yarn if you are a beginner. Number two, do not use black or a dark color! It was so small and so dark, I could not see my stitches, the individual yarns of a chain, and really just made it quite difficult. I tried with the black a few times and would pull the whole thing out and start over because I kept messing up not being able to see what I was doing. After I switched to the pink supplied in the booklet it got so much easier. Still it was not a thick yarn, but the color was so much better.

My needle (size 4/E) is probably the right size for the yarn I was working with, but the hook was so tiny! Again, I think as a beginner it would be much easier to start with a larger crochet needle. Patterns will generally specify the needle size so look for that when beginning. Here is a basic breakdown for the needle sizes.

Crochet Hook Conversion Chart
Metric USA UK
2.00 mm 14
2.25 mm 1 / B 13
2.50 mm 12
2.75 mm C 11
3.00 mm 11
3.25 mm D 10
3.50 mm 4 / E 9
3.75 mm F
4.00 mm 6 8
4.25 mm G
4.50 mm 7 7
5.00 mm 8 / H 6
5.50 mm 9 / I 5
6.00 mm 10 / J 4
6.50 mm 10 1/2 / K 3
7.00 mm 2
8.00 mm 0
9.00 mm 15 / N 00
10.00 mm P 000
15.75 mm or 16mm Q

Her step by step instructions were great! I did go through them a couple of times and one time I even some how started picking up the wrong side of the yarn. Ha Ha. But I think I got the basics. Here is all I did, but still am proud of myself.

I am not ready to start on the pattern of her sisterhood blanket.  I’m thinking my first real crochet project should be a scarf. I am not prepared for anything fancy yet. Now, to find a good easy pattern. I believe I will go buy Walmart after church tomorrow and see what they have in larger yarn and large needles.