Mar
Starting With a Dishcloth Because That’s What Everyone Says
So the first thing everyone’s gonna tell you is to make a dishcloth and honestly they’re right but also it’s kind of boring? I made my first one in spring 2022 when I was stuck at home with covid and needed something to do besides watch The Office for the millionth time. The dishcloth is good because it’s literally just a square and if you mess up nobody cares because it’s going to clean your counter anyway.
You need cotton yarn for dishcloths though, not acrylic. I used Lily Sugar’n Cream because that’s what was at Target and I wasn’t about to order online and wait. The yellow one, I think it was called Sunflower or something. Cotton is scratchy on your hands when you’re first working with it which really annoyed me because everyone acts like crochet is so relaxing but my fingers hurt and the yarn kept squeaking against itself in this weird way.
For the hook size just check the yarn label. Mine said H/8 or 5mm and I bought whatever was cheapest at the craft store. You don’t need fancy hooks when you’re starting out, the aluminum ones work fine even if they’re not as pretty as those wooden ones everyone shows off on Instagram.
The Actual Dishcloth Pattern
Chain like 30 stitches. It doesn’t have to be exact. Then you’re gonna do single crochet in the second chain from your hook and just keep going across. When you get to the end, chain one, turn your work around, and go back the other way. Keep doing that until it looks square-ish.
The thing nobody tells you is that your edges are gonna look terrible at first. Like one side will be tight and one side will be loose and it’ll look like a trapezoid instead of a square. That’s normal. I thought I was doing it wrong for like three dishcloths before I realized you just get better at it.
Granny Squares Are Actually Easier Than They Look
After dishcloths I tried granny squares because everyone makes blankets out of them. Summer 2024 I made probably fifty of these while sitting on my porch because the AC was broken and it was too hot to do anything else. My cat kept trying to catch the yarn ball which was annoying but also kind of funny.
Granny squares start with a magic ring or you can just chain 4 and slip stitch it into a circle if the magic ring is confusing. I still can’t do a magic ring properly half the time so don’t worry about it. Then you chain 3 which counts as your first double crochet, do 2 more double crochets into the ring, chain 2, and repeat that three more times. You end up with four little groups of 3 double crochets with chain spaces between them.
The second round is where it actually starts looking like something. You slip stitch over to the first chain-2 space, then do the whole chain 3 and double crochet thing again but this time you do (3 double crochet, chain 2, 3 double crochet) in each corner space. Between the corners you just do 3 double crochets in the spaces between the groups from the previous round.
I used Red Heart Super Saver for my granny squares because it’s cheap and you can get it literally anywhere. The color was called Tea Leaf which is like a green-grey situation. Some people hate Red Heart because it’s scratchy but I think it’s fine, plus it’s like three dollars instead of fifteen.
What to Actually Do With Granny Squares
You can make a blanket obviously but that takes forever and you have to sew them all together which is its own nightmare. I made a pillow cover instead with like nine squares sewn together. Just make a rectangle that wraps around your pillow and sew up the sides. Way more manageable than a whole blanket.
Or you can just make one big granny square by keeping going with more rounds. I made one that was like two feet across and used it as a lap blanket. Same pattern just don’t stop after two rounds.
Scarves Are Good But Pick the Right Stitch
Scarves seem obvious for beginners but the stitch matters a lot. I made one with single crochet and it took absolutely forever and was boring as hell. Single crochet makes a really thick dense fabric which is warm but it’s so slow.
Half double crochet is better for scarves. It works up faster and has a nicer texture. You just chain however wide you want the scarf (maybe like 20-25 stitches), then half double crochet across. Chain 2 and turn at the end of each row. Keep going until it’s long enough to wrap around your neck a couple times.
I made mine during a breakup in late 2023 and honestly the repetitive motion was kind of helpful? Just sitting there making rows and rows while watching trashy reality TV. I used Caron Simply Soft in like a burgundy color, maybe it was called Burgundy or Wine, I don’t remember. That yarn is really nice actually, it’s soft and not too expensive.
The annoying thing about scarves is they curl up at the edges sometimes. If you’re doing all the same stitch in rows it tends to curl lengthwise and there’s not much you can do about it except block it at the end, which means getting it wet and pinning it flat while it dries. I didn’t bother with that honestly.
Beanies If You’re Ready to Try in the Round
Working in the round is different from working in rows and it messes with your brain at first. Instead of turning your work back and forth you just keep going around and around in a spiral. You need stitch markers for this or you’ll lose track of where your rounds start. I just used a piece of different colored yarn tied around one stitch.
For a basic beanie you start with a magic ring again (or chain 2 and work into the first chain). Do like 8 half double crochets into the ring. Then for the next round you increase by doing 2 half double crochets in each stitch, so you end up with 16. Next round you do (1 half double crochet, then 2 in the next stitch) repeated around, giving you 24 stitches.
Keep increasing every round following that pattern until the circle is wide enough to cover the top of your head. Then stop increasing and just crochet even (one stitch in each stitch) until the whole thing is long enough to cover your ears. The pattern’s not that complicated once you get the rhythm but counting is super important and I definitely messed up several times and had to pull out rows.
I used Bernat Softee Chunky for a hat because the thick yarn means it works up fast. The color was called Grey Heather I think? Or maybe just Grey. Something grey. Chunky yarn is good for beginners because you can see your stitches really clearly and it doesn’t take as long to finish a project.
The Ribbing Thing
If you want the bottom of your beanie to have ribbing like a store bought hat, you can do that but it’s kind of annoying. You have to work in the back loops only which creates horizontal ridges. Or you can do a slip stitch brim. Honestly I just did half double crochet all the way down and it was fine, it just rolls up a little bit at the edge.
Simple Coasters Are Good for Using Up Scraps
Once you have random bits of yarn left over from other projects, coasters are perfect. You just make small circles or squares, whatever you want. I did circles by starting with a magic ring, doing 8 single crochets into it, then increasing each round until it’s about 4 inches across.
The increase pattern for circles is the same as the beanie. First increase round is 2 stitches in each stitch. Second increase round is (1 stitch, 2 stitches in next) repeated. Third increase round is (2 stitches, then increase) repeated. You keep going with that pattern where you add one more regular stitch between each increase.
Cotton yarn is better for coasters since they might get wet. I used more Lily Sugar’n Cream because I had a bunch left over. Made like six coasters in different colors while watching some crime documentary series, I can’t remember which one.
What About Amigurumi
So amigurumi is those little stuffed animals and characters everyone makes. They’re cute but honestly they’re harder than people think? You’re working in tight rounds with small hooks and you have to count constantly and the shaping is tricky.
I tried making a little octopus pattern I found online and it came out looking kind of deformed. The head was lumpy and the tentacles were all different sizes. It’s not really a beginner project even though people act like it is. Maybe if you’re really good at following patterns and counting, but I got frustrated with it pretty quick.
If you really want to try amigurumi, start with something that’s basically just a ball with maybe a couple simple parts attached. A lot of patterns are like “oh just make this adorable detailed dragon” and it requires like fifteen different pieces and sewing and safety eyes and it’s a whole thing.
Stuff About Yarn and Hooks That Matters
Acrylic yarn is fine for learning. People get weird about yarn quality but when you’re starting out and you’re gonna mess up a bunch anyway, just use Red Heart or Caron or whatever’s cheap. You can get fancy later if you want.
Cotton is good for dishcloths, coasters, market bags, anything that needs to be sturdy and washable. It doesn’t have any stretch though so it’s not great for hats or scarves.
Hook size matters more than you think. If you use a smaller hook than the yarn recommends, your fabric comes out really stiff and tight. Bigger hook makes it looser and more drapey. The label on the yarn usually tells you what size to use but you can experiment.
I have like ten hooks now but I use the H/8 (5mm) for most stuff. That’s a good middle size that works with worsted weight yarn which is the most common. The J/10 (6mm) is good for chunky yarn. You don’t need a whole set when you’re starting, just get one or two in common sizes.
Tension Is Gonna Be Weird at First
Your first projects will probably be way tighter or way looser than they should be because you don’t know how hard to pull the yarn yet. My first dishcloth was so tight I could barely get my hook through the stitches. Then I overcorrected and made one that was so loose it had holes everywhere.
You just have to practice until your hands figure it out. There’s not really a trick to it, it’s just muscle memory. After a few projects it’ll feel more natural and your stitches will be more consistent.
One thing that helped me was realizing you’re supposed to wrap the yarn around your fingers to create tension. I was just holding it loose in my hand at first which made everything inconsistent. Look up yarn tension techniques or just experiment until you find something comfortable.
Reading Patterns Is Its Own Skill
Crochet patterns use abbreviations that are confusing at first. SC means single crochet, DC is double crochet, HDC is half double crochet, CH is chain, SL ST is slip stitch. There are more but those are the main ones.
When a pattern says something like “2 DC in next st” that means you put two double crochets in the same stitch, which is how you increase. When it says “DC2tog” that means you do two double crochets together, which is how you decrease.
Patterns also use asterisks and parentheses to show repeats. Like “*DC in next 3 sts, 2 DC in next st* repeat around” means you do that whole sequence over and over until you get back to where you started. It’s confusing to read but makes sense once you see it in action.
Honestly though for your first few projects just find a video tutorial instead of trying to read written patterns. Watching someone do it is so much easier than trying to decode the abbreviations. I probably watched the same granny square video like eight times before I could do it without pausing constantly.
Mistakes Don’t Matter As Much As You Think
You’re gonna drop stitches and add stitches accidentally and your stitch count will be wrong and it’ll be lopsided. That’s just part of learning. I still mess up pretty regularly and I’ve been doing this for a couple years now.
For stuff like dishcloths and scarves it really doesn’t matter if it’s perfect. Nobody’s examining your dishcloth to count the stitches. Even with wearable stuff like hats, small mistakes usually don’t show once you’re wearing it.
The only time you really need to rip out and redo is if the whole thing is going sideways, like if you’re losing stitches every row and it’s getting narrower, or if you completely did the wrong stitch for several rows. Otherwise just keep going and remember that handmade means it’s supposed to look a little irregular anyway.
