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Welcome to "Learn to Crochet"! In this comprehensive series of tutorials, I will walk you through the wonderful art of crocheting, perfect for anyone looking to learn this versatile craft.
NOTE: this video is in UK terms.
Whether you're a complete novice or have some basic knowledge, this video is designed to equip you with essential crochet techniques and tips to get you started on your creative journey. Follow along as I take you step-by-step through starting off, forming a chain, doing double crochet and finishing off your crochet.
If you are looking for US terms then watch this video here: https://youtu.be/1eMFSXkI3aA
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0:00
Hello and welcome to the Learn to Crochet series part 1
0:04
This is showing you the double crochet and that's UK terms So if you're looking for the US terms, please click on the link on the screen or on the description below and that will take you to those
0:13
So we're dealing in UK terms So you're going to need some yarn and a hook
0:19
It really doesn't matter what hook at this stage, so if you've got the old fashioned ones like that, just use them
0:24
I do recommend if you're going to do a lot of crocheting, the ergonomic hooks, but please don't go rushing out and buying them
0:30
Just use whatever hook you've got, see how you find it And if you fall in love with crocheting, go and buy them then
0:37
So you're going to need some scissors as well, but any scissors will do, don't buy special ones
0:41
If you do go and buy some hooks, I do recommend buying a set of ergonomic hooks
0:46
You can get them really cheaply like this one off Amazon I bought this a few years ago, but I'll put some links in the description below so you can find some
0:54
And let's get started I'm going to use my ergonomic hook because I prefer them
1:01
So the first thing you need to do with your yarn is form a slip knot
1:05
And really that's how you start any knitting or crocheting So it doesn't matter what you're going to start, this is what you're going to need
1:12
Form a loop around your fingers And then take the long length of yarn that's going back to the ball
1:18
Make a small loop and push it through that big loop that you made
1:23
And then pull it through and pull the short end of your yarn
1:28
And that will form a little knot with the loop And put your hook through that loop
1:35
Now, the small bit of yarn that you've got left over there
1:39
Dangling out, just needs to be a few inches long Mine's quite long, but you do need a few inches
1:45
So that you can work it in at the end, and I will show you how to do that in this video
1:50
So the first thing you've got to do is take hold of your yarn And you need some tension in it
1:56
Now I use my first finger to do this People use lots of different techniques and I'm no expert
2:02
So please play around and do what works for you But what you do need is some tension in your yarn
2:09
So you'll see it's just holding straight So I can hook it and pull it through the loop that I made
2:17
So twist the hook, pull the yarn through And what you're doing now is forming a chain
2:25
So that's chain stitch And you will see that yarn is staying nice and taut
2:31
It's not too taut, it is pulling through But it's just got some tension in it
2:36
And really all you can do is play around until you get that right And you might find you use a different finger to me
2:43
Or you use a combination of fingers, sometimes people hook it over one and through another Play around, do what works for you
2:49
And you'll get into a rhythm like I'm doing here And you'll notice I'm also moving my fingers up as I work to hold on to the chain
2:58
And when you've got a few there, you'll be able to have a look at it
3:02
And all your chains should be about the same size And you'll see they look like these on the front
3:08
And ridges on the back And that's how you can tell the front and the back
3:13
So the front is the V's If they're not a similar size, just pull it all back and start again
3:18
This is crochet, enjoy Just take it back, have another go There's no right and wrong, you're just doing your best
3:25
And it's not going to look fabulous the first time you do it Then we want to do our actual double crochet
3:32
So ignore that first stitch that your loop is through And then that second one, you're going to push your hook through
3:40
Hook your yarn like you were doing before And pull it through that one loop that's on the hook
3:49
So you'll then still have two on there Now hook your yarn again
3:54
And pull it through them both So, move along to the next stitch
3:59
Push your hook through Hook the yarn, pull it through one loop
4:06
And then hook it again and pull it through both loops Next stitch
4:12
Push it through, hook the yarn through one loop Hook it, pull it through both loops
4:18
And that is your double crochet stitch And you just keep going, doing that same stitch
4:26
That's all we're doing in this video is one stitch And you'll see you're starting to form a whole row of it
4:32
And you'll also see it's quite a compact stitch It's a really, really useful stitch in crochet
4:39
Pull it through, pull it through them both And I'm going to work my way along here all the way back to the beginning
4:47
And I'm going to show you the whole row so you can work along with me You can keep glancing at the screen and seeing another stitch being formed
4:57
Because it's all about you having a practice Working out where's the best place for you to hold it
5:04
But you will get into a lovely rhythm Now, if you're finding this really tricky, please don't despair
5:11
The hardest row you ever do is into that starting chain It's always a little bit tricky
5:17
And if you're finding it impossible to get your hook through Pull the whole lot back, redo your chain and make the stitches bigger
5:25
And you'll find it's a whole lot easier So just keep working your way along
5:33
And remember, this is as hard as it gets OK, you can see I'm getting to the end there
5:43
And when you get to the end, you can stop and have a look at all your work
5:47
And you'll see you've got a lovely row there of your double crochets Enjoy
5:53
And then it's time to turn So just turn the whole thing round
5:57
And we're going to work back the other way So the first step is to do one chain stitch
6:03
Which you know how to do And then put your hook through that very end stitch
6:09
And make sure you go through the end stitch And then hook your yarn, pull it through
6:15
Hook it again, pull it through the two loops Now, as you're going through the next stitch
6:22
You'll realise what you're doing is you're going under the two loops on the top of the stitch
6:27
And you can clearly see those two loops, and you're going under both of them
6:31
Hook the yarn, pull it through, hook it again, pull it through the two loops
6:37
So that's through the stitch, hook the yarn Hook the yarn, through the two loops
6:46
So, through, hook and pull it back, hook through the two loops
6:52
And keep going all the way along Now a top tip is when you're new to crochet, count your stitches
6:58
So if you've started with ten stitches, count them in this row as well and make sure there are still ten
7:04
It's just going to stop you doing the old missing a stitch at the beginning or trying to do a stitch twice
7:09
And until you get a little bit more practised, it just helps you keep a nice, tidy work
7:15
And keeping that same size So if you're enjoying the video, please give me a thumbs up below so it spreads to more people
7:22
And enjoy your crocheting So when we get to this end, we can see we've got two rows now
7:29
And we can also see how compact it is So you would turn one chain and set off back the other way
7:36
Now what I'm going to do is stop now so that I can show you, when you've completed your work, how to finish it off
7:43
So assuming you've finished, you need to cut your yarn But you don't want to cut it too short
7:51
So get your scissors, cut a few inches And then use your hook to open that loop up a bit
7:58
And then feed your yarn through the loop Pull it tight, and you've got a little knot to hold it all secure
8:07
And that's your piece of work done Now I did a slightly larger sample earlier
8:13
So you can see what your single crochet, did I say single
8:17
Double crochet will look like when you've completed a section of it
8:21
You can see it's a nice tight stitch and very useful You can see I've got straight edges, and that's what yours should be like
8:27
So what we have got are the yarn ends And obviously you don't see people with those dangling off their cardigan
8:35
So we're going to work those in And in crochet that's called weaving in your ends
8:40
And what you're going to need is a needle So it can be a blunt needle
8:45
All that matters is that the eye of the needle is big enough for the yarn to go through
8:50
I'm going to use this metal one, called a bodkin, or it was when I was younger
8:54
But you'll see there are a lot of these plastic ones about now And you get them in your kits and things
8:59
They're great, it really doesn't matter Any needle that your yarn will fit through
9:03
A blunt one is good because it won't break into the yarn as you're working
9:07
So when you look at your double crochet You will see that on that row there, there are those little loops
9:16
So we're just going to poke our way down through the work To get to those loops
9:22
And under each stitch there are two loops And you're going to take your needle and push it through those two loops
9:32
And then to the next stitch and go through those two loops
9:36
And again, and again I tend to do four stitches, which is eight loops
9:42
But you can do as many or as few as you like It's a personal preference
9:46
I just find that a reasonable amount And then pull it through
9:51
Then stretch your work back so that you haven't pulled it tight with the thread
9:55
You don't want to be pulling it tight Then when you come back the other way, you need to go over that first loop
10:01
And then back through the loops exactly how you did before But it's really important you make sure you go over a loop
10:07
So it doesn't just all come out again And then you've come back to the edge of your work
10:13
Pull it through And then you can take your needle off your yarn
10:20
Pull your work so nothing's pulled tight It's nice and loose And then cut off the yarn
10:26
And you're done And then you would do that with any ends that you've got on your piece of work
10:31
And I hope you've really enjoyed learning how to do double crochet
10:35
And follow this series to develop your skills There will be lots of them coming along
10:40
This is video one. Enjoy your crocheting
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