-Nairiti Jain
I still remember picking up my first crochet hook.
At the time, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I had a hook, some yarn, a YouTube video playing somewhere in the background, and a fairly unreasonable amount of confidence.
Fast-forward a little, and that first hook somehow turned into finished products, endless balls of yarn, late nights trying to figure out where I had dropped a stitch, and eventually, a handmade business.
So if you're thinking about learning crochet, this is not a “here are 17 crochet stitches you absolutely must know before touching yarn” kind of guide.
These are simply the things I wish someone had told me when I started crocheting.
Because learning crochet is not particularly difficult.
But learning crochet without getting unnecessarily frustrated? That's a different story.
Here are seven things I would tell my beginner self.
1. Make your first project small, but still BIG..
This might sound contradictory… What I mean to say is; take a small project but use a bigger hook.
When I say start small, I mean don't decide that your first crochet project should be a king-sized blanket, an intricate cardigan or the giant sunflower you saw on Pinterest.
But I also wouldn't recommend picking up a tiny hook and impossibly thin yarn just because the finished project looks cute.That is a fast-track ticket to wondering why you have spent three hours making something that is approximately the size of a biscuit.
For your first project, pick simple. A simple headband, small pouch, coaster, chunky keychain or basic rectangle is a much better first project than an intricate miniature flower.
Use a thicker yarn and a larger crochet hook.
The bigger stitches are easier to see, easier to work into and much easier to understand when you're still figuring out what exactly your hook is supposed to be doing.
You're not trying to prove anything.
You're trying to teach your hands a new movement.
And here's the important bit:
Your first project should be something you can actually finish.
There is something incredibly motivating about looking at a finished object and thinking:
“Wait. I made that?”
That little feeling is what makes you want to pick up the hook again.
And again.
And eventually, at some point, you realise you've accumulated enough yarn to qualify as a small retail operation.
2. Your tension will probably be terrible at first… and that's OKAY
Nobody tells you this enough.
Your first few rows may look absolutely nothing like the beautiful, even crochet pieces you've been saving on Instagram.
Your stitches might be so tight that you need the strength of three people to insert your hook.
Or they might be so loose that your project looks like it has been stretched in every direction simultaneously.
Both are normal.
Too tight? Your hook becomes difficult to insert and the finished fabric can become stiff.
Too loose? Your stitches can become oversized and uneven, and your project may lose the shape you intended.
What you're ultimately looking for is consistent tension, stitches that are reasonably similar in size and a fabric that behaves the way you expect it to.
But please don't spend your first day obsessing over perfect tension.
Your hands are learning.
You're simultaneously trying to hold the hook, control the yarn, understand the stitch and remember which loop you're supposed to be putting the hook through.
Of course it's going to feel awkward.
The more you crochet, the more naturally your hands begin to find their rhythm.
So if your first few rows look a little questionable, don't immediately assume you are bad at crochet.
You are probably just new at crochet.
There is a difference.
3. That beautiful sunflower you saved? Don't.
I'm serious.
Put it down.
The same goes for the gorgeous rose, the intricate daisy, the tiny detailed amigurumi character or that beautiful crochet bag with seventeen different stitches that you found five minutes after deciding you wanted to learn crochet.
It is probably not beginner-friendly.
And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
One of the biggest mistakes I see beginners make is choosing their first project based on how much they like the finished object, rather than how difficult it is to make.
Your first project doesn't need to be beautiful enough to sell at a craft fair.
It needs to be simple enough for you to finish without questioning every decision you've made since birth.
Start with something where you can go stitch by stitch.
A simple rectangle.
A headband.
A pillow case.
Something where you're repeating the same stitch or small combination of stitches and gradually getting comfortable with the movement.
Once your hands understand the basics, then go make the sunflower.
Future you will thank present you.
4. Learn to count.
I know.
This sounds boring.
It is also one of the most useful things you can learn early.
If your first row has 20 stitches, your second row should probably still have 20 stitches.
Not 18.
Not 23.
And definitely not 31 because somewhere along the way you apparently started crocheting for a different project.
A lot of beginner crochet problems come down to losing or accidentally adding stitches.
Your project starts as a nice rectangle.
Then, mysteriously, one side starts getting wider.
You keep going.
You become optimistic.
And eventually you're holding something that looks suspiciously like a triangle.
Count your stitches.
It sounds ridiculously simple, but it will save you from a lot of frustration.
And if you're making rows, use stitch markers if you need them. Marking the first or last stitch can make it much easier to see where a row actually begins and ends.
Your future self will be grateful.
5. The only animal you need right now is a frog.
At some point, you will make a mistake.
You will miss a stitch.
Add a stitch.
Put your hook through the wrong loop.
Forget what you were doing.
Look at your project.
Look at the tutorial.
Look at your project again.
And quietly wonder:
“Where did everything go wrong?”
Welcome to crochet.
This is where you learn one of my favourite crochet words:
Frogging.
Frogging means pulling out your crochet so you can redo it.
And yes, crocheters call it frogging because you rip it, rip it.
I didn't make the rules.
The good news is that crochet is wonderfully forgiving in this way. You can undo your stitches and try again.
Some of the things you may eventually find yourself frogging include:
- dropped stitches
- the wrong stitch count
- a twisted foundation chain
- uneven tension
- accidentally using the wrong hook size
- following the wrong part of a tutorial for approximately 40 minutes
And honestly?
Frogging is not failure.
Sometimes it is just part of making something properly.
Even experienced crocheters undo their work.
So don't become emotionally attached to every single stitch you make.
Some of them are temporary.
6. You do not need to become a pattern-reading genius on day one
Here's a confession:
Even people who crochet beautifully can open a complicated crochet pattern and stare at it for a while like it has personally offended them.
Crochet patterns can have abbreviations, symbols, stitch counts, repeats and instructions that make perfect sense once you understand them and absolutely no sense when you're holding your first hook.
So if you're just starting out, don't make pattern reading your first battle.
Find a good tutorial.
Follow along.
Pause it.
Rewind it.
Play the same 20-second section seven times if necessary.
There is no prize for understanding a written crochet pattern before you've learned how to hold the hook properly.
As you get more comfortable, learn the common abbreviations and eventually start reading patterns.
But in the beginning?
A clear step-by-step video can be your best friend.
That is actually how a lot of us started — one YouTube tutorial, one confused pause and one “wait, what did she just do?” at a time.
And honestly, that's okay.
7. Instagram is not your friend when you're making your first project
Well...
Instagram is your friend.
Your Instagram feed is not.
Because your first crochet project is going to be sitting next to thousands of beautifully photographed pieces made by people who may have been crocheting for years.
You'll see perfect stitches.
Perfect flowers.
Perfect bags.
Perfect little amigurumi.
Perfect colour combinations.
And then you'll look at your first slightly wonky rectangle and think:
“Maybe crochet isn't for me.”
Please don't.
You are comparing your beginning to someone else's middle.
You don't see their first crooked row.
You don't see the yarn they threw across the room.
You don't see the projects they abandoned halfway through.
You don't see how many times they had to frog something.
You see the finished photograph.
That's all.
So let your first project be imperfect.
Let your stitches be uneven.
Let your edges wobble a little.
Finish it anyway.
Because eventually that wonky little first project becomes something much more exciting:
proof that you learned.
And then one day, you might accidentally start a business
This is probably my favourite part of the whole journey.
Because when I picked up my first crochet hook, I wasn't sitting there thinking:
“Excellent. One day I'm going to build a handmade business.”
I was just trying to figure out how to make the thing in the YouTube video.
Then you make another thing.
And another.
You start experimenting.
You start designing your own pieces.
People start asking where you got something.
Then someone wants to buy one.
Then someone wants another.
And suddenly you're researching packaging, figuring out shipping, answering customer messages, photographing products, learning social media, calculating margins and wondering why you have 47 unfinished crochet projects sitting in a corner.
And somewhere in the middle of all that, you realise:
you built something.
That's what I love about handmade.
It can start with something as small as picking up a hook for the first time.
You don't need to know where it is going.
You just need to start.
So, if you're thinking about learning crochet...
Don't start with the hardest project.
Don't worry about perfect tension.
Don't be afraid to undo your work.
Count your stitches.
Use thick yarn and a bigger hook.
Follow a tutorial if patterns look like ancient hieroglyphics.
And most importantly, finish something.
It doesn't have to be perfect.
It just has to be yours.
And if you do make your first crochet project after reading this, I'd genuinely love to see it.
Tag @studio_nairiti on Instagram or use #snfirstry so we can find it.
Because everyone who makes something by hand has a first project.
This could be yours.
A little note from Studio Nairiti
Everything you see at Studio Nairiti started with someone learning, experimenting, making mistakes and trying again.
Today, we create handmade accessories, home décor, utility pieces, plushies and gifts — but behind every finished product is the same thing that sits behind your first crochet project:
time, patience and a pair of hands that kept going.
Welcome to the handmade world. 🧶
— Studio Nairiti