Crochet For Beginners

180 Pages·34.217 MB·English

by  Asadi Aaron (Publishing Director).

W
Crochet
E
N
Learn to read crochet patterns
Master essential techniques
Perfect the basic stitches
Great starter projects
45
techniques
inside
Everything you need to know to get started with crochet

Welcome to
Crochet
Crochet as a hobby has boomed in recent years, with the art being
passed down to younger generations. Making your own garments, gifts
and decorations has become all the rage. In Crochet for Beginners, we
will show you all the different techniques, stitches and starter projects
you need to get started with Crochet, from foundation chains to your
first single crochet, from adding embellishments to making your first
unique project. Crochet isn’t all about hats and scarves either. In the
starter project section you will find easy-to-follow patterns on how to
make your own vintage bunting, fetching bag and pretty triangular
shawl. So what are you waiting for? Grab your hooks, yarn and buttons
and get started with your long-awaited Crochet projects today!
Enjoy the book!

Crochet
Imagine Publishing Ltd
Richmond House
33 Richmond Hill
Bournemouth
Dorset BH2 6EZ
(cid:8) [phone]
Website: www.imagine-publishing.co.uk
Twitter: @Books_Imagine
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ImagineBookazines
Publishing Director
Aaron Asadi
Head of Design
Ross Andrews
Production Editor
Fiona Hudson
Senior Art Editor
Greg Whitaker
Senior Designer
Sarah Bellman
Written by
June Gilbank
Printed by
William Gibbons, 26 Planetary Road, Willenhall, West Midlands, WV13 3XT
Distributed in the UK, Eire & the Rest of the World by:
Marketforce, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HU
Tel [phone] www.marketforce.co.uk

Distributed in Australia by:
Gordon & Gotch Australia Pty Ltd, 26 Rodborough Road, Frenchs Forest, NSW, 2086 Australia
Tel [phone] www.gordongotch.com.au
Disclaimer
The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material lost or damaged in
the post. All text and layout is the copyright of Imagine Publishing Ltd. Nothing in this bookazine
may be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the publisher. All copyrights
are recognised and used specifically for the purpose of criticism and review. Although the bookazine
has endeavoured to ensure all information is correct at time of print, prices and availability
may change. This bookazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the
companies mentioned herein.
This bookazine is published under licence from Dorling Kindersley Limited. All rights in the
licensed material belong to Dorling Kindersley Limited and it may not be reproduced, whether in
whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Dorling Kindersley Limited. ©2016 Dorling
Kindersley Limited.
The content in this book appeared previously in The Idiot’s Guide to Crochet, published by Alpha
Books, a division of Dorling Kindersley Limited
Crochet for Beginners Second Edition © 2016 Imagine Publishing Ltd
ISBN 978 1785 463 228
Contents
Getting started
10 Choosing your yarn 32 M aking a foundation chain
12 All about crochet hooks 34 W orking into the foundation
chain
14 The tools you need
36 W orking into subsequent rows
16 Holding your yarn and hook
38 Single crochet
18 Crochet for left-handers
40 Double crochet
20 Identifying and counting
stitches 42 Half double crochet
22 Gauge (tension) 44 Triple (treble) crochet
24 How to read a pattern 46 Turning chains
26 Abbreviations 48 Slip stitch
28 Making a slipknot 50 Fixing mistakes
30 Making a yarn over 52 Basic edging
31 Drawing up a loop 54 Weaving in ends
40 62
116
6 Crochet for Beginners
The next step 124 Flowers
126 F ringe
124
58 Joining new yarn 128 Reverse single crochet
130 P icot edging
62 Changing colors
132 Intermediate stitch gallery
66 Reading charted stitch
diagrams
Starter projects
68 Increasing
70 Decreasing
140 Three simple washcloths
72 Chain start
144 C ircular coasters
74 Magic ring
146 T riangle bunting
76 Working in the round
148 P retty headband
80 Standard increases
150 Puff stitch scarf
82 Invisible inish
152 F lecked scarf
84 Blocking 154 C ozy cowl
88 Joining 156 H andy baskets
92 Easy stitch patterns 158 Placemat and coaster set
160 Rolling waves blanket
Going further
162 Solid stripes bag
166 Double diagonal shawl
98 Shells, Fans and V stitches
168 Front-and-back hat
100 C rossed Stitches
172 F ront-and-back ingerless
140
102 Post stitches mitts
104 S pike stitches
Reference
106 C hainless Foundations
108 L inked stitches
174 Crochet glossary
110 C luster stitches
176 Q uick reference
112 P uff stitches
114 Popcorn stitches
116 All about motifs
118 Solid squares
120 Circle in a square
144 150
122 G ranny squares
123 Granny triangles
Crochet for Beginners 7
Getting started
Get to grips with the basics of crochet
10 Choosing your yarn 34 Working into the
foundation chain
12 All about crochet hooks
36 W orking into
14 The tools you need subsequent rows
16 Holding your yarn and hook 38 Single crochet
18 Crochet for left-handers 40 Double crochet
20 Identifying and counting 42 Half double crochet
stitches
44 Triple (treble) crochet
22 Gauge (tension)

46 Turning chains
24 How to read a pattern

48 Slip stitch
26 Abbreviations
28 Making a slipknot 50 Fixing mistakes
30 Making a yarn over 52 Basic edging
31 Drawing up a loop 54 Weaving in ends

32 Making a foundation chain
Top Tip
For thread crochet, ine
steel hooks are available in
a range of very small sizes,
numbered from US 00 to 14
(from 3.5 to 0.75mm).
8 Crochet for Beginners
Crochet for Beginners 9
Getting started
Choosing your yarn
One of the many nice things about crochet is the wide variety of yarns you can
work with. With so many choices, however, it can get overwhelming sometimes!
S
o which yarn should you use, especially when and washcloths. Mercerized cotton has been processed to
you’re new to crochet? A smooth yarn that feels make it strong, smooth, and shiny, but it is also less absorbent.
good in your hands is the best choice when you’re Wool is light and stretchy and makes warm winter clothes.
just starting. Choose a plain, soft yarn in a color you Check the care instructions carefully; most wool shrinks when
love, but avoid very dark colors at first. Your stitches will show washed. Superwash wool has been treated so it can be
more clearly with lighter-colored yarn. Novelty yarns with machine washed without the fibers felting, or binding together.
loops, bobbles, fluff, or glitter might be tempting right now, Acrylic is inexpensive and easy to care for, but it can’t tolerate
but they’re more difficult to work with. Because the texture heat. It’s often available in a wide range of colors that make it
obscures your stitches, wait until you have a thorough grasp of particularly suitable for blankets and toys.
the basics of crochet before you attempt to work with one of Yarn can also be produced from a blend of fibers, which
these yarns. combines the properties of each. For example, acrylic can
Whatever yarn you choose, it will likely come wound in be added to cotton to give it some stretch or to wool to make
a skein, ball, or hank, most often with a paper ball band it washable.
surrounding it. The ball band contains useful information about
How Much Yarn Do You Need?
the yarn, including its weight, fiber composition, yardage, care
instructions, and more. When crocheting from a pattern, you need to know how
much yarn to buy. Each pattern tells you approximately how
Yarn Weights
much length (yardage) of which weight of yarn is required to
The weight of a yarn refers to its thickness, not the weight of a complete the project, so look for a yarn that’s the same weight,
ball or skein. Yarn varies in thickness, from very thin lace weight and check the ball band for the yardage. Calculate how many
that you can crochet gossamer-fine shawls with, through balls of yarn you need by dividing the yardage specified in the
to super bulky, more suited for thick blankets and oversized pattern by the yardage of one ball and rounding up to the
chunky scarves, and every thickness in between. Lighter nearest whole number.
yarns need smaller hooks and take more stitches and rows to Yarn is dyed in batches, all of which have slight color
produce the same sized piece of crocheted fabric you’d get variances from other batches. To be sure all the yarn you buy is
with a heavier yarn paired with a larger hook. exactly the same shade, check each ball band to ensure every
When you’re just beginning to learn to crochet, a ball comes from the same numbered dye lot.
medium-weight yarn is a good choice. Perfect for a wide
range of projects, it’s thick enough that you can easily see You can crochet using the yarn tail found on
your stitches. Look for a worsted weight yarn. Depending
the outside of the skein or fish out the tail
on the manufacturer, it could also be called medium, #4, aran,
from the middle of the skein (a center-pull
or 10-ply.
skein). Some higher-end yarn is packaged in
Yarn Fibers
a hank – a large loop of yarn twisted into a
Yarn can be made from plant fibers (such as cotton, linen, coil. To avoid tangles when you crochet with
and bamboo), animal fibers (such as wool, alpaca, mohair, and
a hank, undo the twisted coil and hand-wind
angora), and man-made fibers (such as acrylic, nylon,
the yarn into a ball, or use a yarn winder to
and microfiber).
Cotton is strong, inelastic, and absorbent, which makes it a wind it into a center-pull skein.
good choice for kitchen and bathroom items such as dishcloths
10 Crochet for Beginners