Back when I was younger, my mom attempted to teach me how to crochet. But I was an impatient, stubborn child and quickly lost interest. She learned it in school when she was younger, but beyond her attempts to teach me, she hadn’t done any crochet for herself in years! But the moment I started asking her for advice, she picked it up again, and now we exchange patterns and hand made gifts!

Besides checking in with my mom, I mainly used TikTok and YouTube to acquire my crochet skills. There are countless creators breaking down meticulously what you have to do, explaining patiently each step, and share some special knowledge from their experience as well. I would pick a basic stitch and then make coasters in various sizes to practice the stich. Coasters are perfect for beginners, as you don’t have to pay attention to anything but repeating each stitch with each row. No back or front loops, no skipped stitches, no working into spaces. Sure, the basic stitches (single, half double and double) by themselves don’t look impressive, but the right yarn with a pretty color pattern can elevate anything!

My biggest struggle in the beginning was getting the yarn tension right: I would always pull tight my loops and always had a strong pull on my working yarn. Looking back, I think that was the main reason for why it took me “longer than expected” to complete my first projects. I envied all the creators that would smoothly make loop after loops, every move seemed so effortless, practiced thousand times!

The solution was simple: practice, practice, practice! As I got more comfortable with the yarn, I could ease some of the tension, let go of too much control, so to say, and magically my speed increased in no time!