Especially for Beginners, Part 1 Yarn
A few years ago we helped the Craft Yarn Council with their Knit Out & Crochet event in Charlotte. The Craft Yarn Council had secured an area right in the middle of the Southern Living Women’s Show. It was exciting exposure for crocheting and knitting. My customer service specialist, came with me to teach crochet to ladies attending the show. We had a delightful time with our colleagues at Coats and Clark, Lion Brand, and various yarn shops, showing women of all ages how to crochet and knit.
Spending so much time with beginning crocheters made me nostalgic about how I learned to crochet as a child, and made me think more about how different the yarn world is now, with its various novelty yarns. This post and several that follow are especially for beginners who are learning to crochet in a sea of textures, yarn blends and hooks of all sizes. Knowing where to start helps tremendously down the road, and can keep you from getting discouraged by a difficult pattern or yarn type.
What kind of yarn should I start with?
I have noticed that beginners are often enticed to learn to crochet by a beautifully textured yarn, and then discouraged when they have a hard time working with the fibers. When picking yarn to learn with, choose something smooth and tightly woven. Try to avoid anything wavy or furry, and stay away from multiple ply yarns with easily separating strands. I recommend TLC Cotton Plus, Red Heart Super Saver, Red Heart Classic, or Patons Canadiana. They are all soft and easy to work with.
Once you master your stitches and tension, there are fun novelty yarns you can play with that are not too difficult. Some of the popular yarns that should be reserved for projects after you have more experience include: Lion Brand Homespun, Red Heart Light and Lofty, Caron Simply Soft Bouclé and other, wavy or bouclé yarns, chenille yarns or yarns with thick furry textures
On the MaggiesCrochet.com website there is a great Fun Fur Pillow Crochet Pattern. In this pattern we combined one strand of Lion Brand Fun Fur with one strand of Red Heart worsted weight yarn. This is a great beginner pattern and an easy way to use a difficult yarn by carrying it with another type yarn.
Stay tuned for more Especially for Beginners.. A free drawstring bag pattern is coming up..
2 responses so far ↓
1 Carolyn A. // Jul 28, 2008 at 4:43 pm
I have been using the Red Heart Acrylic 4ply for a very long time … it just does what I want it to do. Then I tried the Red Heart Acrylic Plush and fell in love with it. It is hard to sew motifs together, but with practice I did it and it looked beautiful. I have made three afghans with it so far. And I don’t weave my ends, I split the yarn and knot. It makes the afghan much sturdier and go through many washes without a problem. My first afghan from 30 years ago is still around. xxoo
2 Maggie // Jul 31, 2008 at 7:17 am
Carolyn A - An afghan from 30 years ago! That’s amazing! The first ones I ever did completely fell apart in months. I had to learn how to sew ends in.
Maggie Weldon - Maggiescrochet.com
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