Crochet

I was hooked for a while. Now I have something to yarn to you about.

In 2012, I decided it was time to learn how to crochet. As a craft activity, it's not what I expected at all. I though it would be like this:

badass craftwoman wearing a kerchief, expertly weaving a basket

But it's actually like this:

inept tabby kitten tangled up in red yarn

For starters, you have to hold and stitch with a relaxed grip. The noob instinct is to pull real night so you don’t drop everything, but that makes it hard to pull stitches through in the next row and not notice when your fingers get tangled. A comfortable size stitch seems to be loose enough for two needles (like knitting). This is called the ‘tension’.

Another tricky bit is knowing where to stick the needle. There are different types of single crochet stitches – one where you stitch through the top of the chain, one through the back of the chain, and one through both the top and back of the chain. This makes more sense when you follow a video tutorial for the first time and they take you through creating your first row. Each of these stitch methods produces a subtly different stitch pattern on the fabric, which crocheters use to achieve specific effects.

Then there's the dreaded "US crochet" vs "UK crochet". Tl;dr:

UK sc (single crochet) is a US sl st (slip stitch)
UK dc (double crochet) is a US sc (single crochet)
UK htr (half treble) is a US hdc (half double)
UK tc (treble crochet) is a US dc (double crochet)
UK dtr (double treble) is a US tr (triple crochet)

But you know, crochet is pretty straightforward once you get used to it. It's meditative and relaxing but does require some concentration (unless you're a badass), especially if you're following a pattern and need to count stitches.

I was hooked for a while. And now I have something to yarn to you about.

Here are some things I have crocheted.