Crafty Chaos Column
By: Jessica Albright | Staff Writer
As a young adult in the twenty-first century, I have a lot of free time and get bored easily. This of course has led me into a routine of cycling through hobbies, such as embroidery, calligraphy and even skateboarding. Yeah, that last one did not last very long. However, one hobby on my list that I never got around to trying out is crocheting. Since the weather is starting to get colder and I have become increasingly bored in my dorm room, I decided that there was no better time than the present to start learning how to crochet. Thus, the idea for “Crafty Chaos” was formed. For the next month, I will be attempting to learn how to crochet and will be documenting the experience. My goals for this project are to gain a basic understanding of crochet and to start on at least two major projects that I can use or wear in the future.
Before I could begin, I of course had to go out and buy the materials. I drove to Michaels and picked out six different colors of yarn, a multipack of crochet hooks (which came with a pair of scissors) and a stitch counter. All of these materials came out to around $54, which I was kind of prepared for seeing as I didn’t have any of the materials to begin with.
Now that I had the supplies, I had to figure out how to actually use them. I started with a video that gave the simple beginning steps to crocheting: a slip knot, a chain, a single crochet and a double crochet. After watching the video, I thought it would be a piece of cake. Boy was I wrong. It took me about ten tries to do a single chain, which is basically a loop, and is the easiest crochet stitch possible. Suffice to say, I extremely overestimated my abilities in this project. However, after finally conquering the chain stitch and being able to create a full row of them, I moved onto the single crochet. After two tries I completed a full square of chains and single crochets, which isn’t the most beautiful, but it is definitely something to be proud of.
I’m not going to lie, it was very exciting finishing that first square, so I immediately moved on to a slightly more difficult granny square pattern. My first attempt was off to a decent start, but on my final row it came apart, and I was unable to complete the square. Despite the setback, I was proud of my progress so far and started over on the same pattern. I ended up making three different squares with the same patterns and different colors. I crocheted while watching a movie, in between my homework assignments and even while cruising around on my family’s boat. Once I got the hang of it, it ended up being quite the peaceful little project. If you have been considering learning the art of crochet at all, I would suggest that you start now. I promise it is worth it (at least it is so far).
Week one was definitely a success in my books. It was difficult at times, but I am glad to say that I didn’t give up. Next week, I am hoping to get started on a real crochet project; however, in the meantime I will continue to practice working on the basic stitches and techniques so I can be prepared for the next steps.
Until Next Week!
Current rating of my crochet experience: ★★★☆☆
Photo Credit: Jessica Albright and Unsplash
