Crochet Practice 1: Getting Started

The most difficult part of this project was figuring out where to start. I almost immediately knew that I wanted to use crochet as my free inquiry, but I had no idea what I wanted to make. I have a small amount of experience with crochet. I can confidently make small objects and creatures, but I have never worked on a large project before. 

In the beginning, I had 3 questions: a) how do I come up with ideas, b) what is my goal, and c) where can I find a pattern to follow. 

All of these questions were answered fairly quickly. My mom is already a knitter, and she has told me many times about a knitting and crochet pattern-sharing site called Ravelry. So, I started by making an account on the site and searching for patterns. I knew that I wanted to create a large piece, so I began looking for shirt ideas. I saved a few patterns, and I really liked this pattern by Chiara Bono. (You will likely need an account on the site to access the link, so I’ll include a picture below).

I didn’t want to focus on just one idea, so I also looked at patterns for crocheted bags. I found three that I really liked: a chicken, mushroom, and flower bag.

"Crochet chicken bag" by Caroline Thirling, "Crochet Mushroom Granny Square Bag" by Loopara Crochet, and "Daisy Mae Bag" by Crochet 365 Knit Too

After saving all of these ideas, I decided to practice making a granny square before jumping into the main project. A granny square is just a small square crocheted piece with any sort of design on it. For example, the mushroom and flower bags that I included previously are both made of many granny squares.

Rather than look on Ravelry for more patterns, I chose to head to YouTube to find a tutorial, since I find practicing is always easier when I have a video example to follow. I quickly found this tutorial for a simple pattern.

The video was fairly easy to follow, but I made a mistake with my first few stitches. This led to problems with the petals later on, so I had to restart after a few rounds of crocheting. I was pretty disappointed, but I decided it was for the best to just take it apart and start fresh.

My second attempt went smoother in the beginning, but eventually I messed up again. I had somehow overlapped the background stitches with the petal stitches, and created a problem in the layers that couldn’t be resolved without fully restarting again. By this point, I had already spent an hour trying, restarting, and trying again.

I decided that it was best to scrap the square I was working on. I chose to just tie off the ends and keep the small circle I had ended up with as a coaster of some sort.

I ended off this week feeling somewhat negative about my abilities. But, I still feel confident enough to continue working towards a larger project. I now know that it will take more practice and frustration than I was expecting.

My biggest struggles along the way were, as follows: deciding what to make, overestimating my skills, and rushing steps rather than taking the time to follow them properly. Now that I know what can cause me trouble, I can try and avoid these issues in the future.

I’m looking forwards to next week, as I plan to practice more and commit to finishing a pattern!