There is something so rewarding about taking a ball of yarn and making something functional and beautiful. This winter, I challenged myself to learn how to crochet and it has been an inspiring decision. I’ve loved making handmade Christmas gifts and am proudly wearing my first project, a winter scarf. My project list is growing every day, and I can’t wait to see what else I can create.

A Painful Beginning

My first opportunity to crochet was over 10 years ago. It was meant to be a dish cloth. A coworker taught me the basic stitch and I prayed it would take off from there. It was the opposite. It was a loppy, unfunctional, scrap of yarn with unnecessary knots. The project was tossed and my crochet hook retired.

For years, I watched friends pick up crochet hooks and succeeding with small and larger projects. I’d often talk about my past failed attempt and my lingering ambition to try again, but conversation ended there. I never started a new project. That changed about a month before Christmas. My friend shared her ambition to crochet her family Christmas gifts. The real surprise? She had learned to crochet only four weeks prior. Even better, she was willing to teach me.

Two Ways to Learn

My friend taught herself to crochet by watch tutorials on YouTube. She would search a project that she was interested in making and look for a beginner tutorial. Her first project was a beanie. She proudly wears it in the cooler weather. Since then, she has completed multiple Christmas projects, headbands, and scrunchies. Today she is crocheting a tapestry. Each project was a tutorial found from a video online. 

I learned from my friend. My talent in crochet is nowhere near her level, but I do enjoy the time making something functional and beautiful. For Christmas gifts, I made multiple scarfs in different colours. It was a good way to learn tension and master the half double stitch, but I am ready to move onto a different project and create more. I’ve looked at cardigans, headbands, beanies, scrunchies. The list is endless. I’m hooked on crochet.