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When I was in Portland for the Handmade Nation premier, I had the pleasure of meeting crochet guru, Kim Werker. I confided in Kim that, though I'd taken one crochet class a year and a half ago, I'd never been able to get past the frustration of uneven work and felt like there was no hope for me and the crochet hook. She and Diane Gilleland took me under their wings at a crafty afternoon at Susan Beal's house and proceeded to demonstrate how to make a granny square. Again, frustration set in. At one point, I actually looked up and said, "You know, I just don't think I'm meant to crochet." Kim decided that I'd started in the wrong place and became determined to get me going with a plain old double crochet. With a few minutes of instruction, she had me going full throttle with rows of double crochet. I crocheted on my flights all the way home, and loved it. But I was still having some issues with wonky, uneven ends to my piece. Thankfully, Kim has put together an amazing step-by-step tutorial with ultra-clear photographs to demystify the double crochet for beginners. And while I'd rather be sitting next to her learning, this tutorial will be a good substitute until the next time we can meet. And, if you haven't already listened Diane's Crafty Pod interview with Kim about making a creative career, be sure to check it out. It's one of the single best podcast episodes (on any subject!) to which I have ever listened. Enjoy!
Hi Wendy!
Thanks for your comment! We tried the granny square that day, because I thought I was ready for something new. I *thought* I'd gotten at least enough crochet down from that first class to tackle the granny square, and I was looking to make something new and different. I've had loads of friends talk about how easy and fun making granny squares is, so I was thinking perhaps it would be the thing to get me kick-started on crochet. Not so! As you point out, mastering the basics is critical before jumping into the granny squares (at least for me it was! ;)
What Kim so beautifully realized that day was that I was no where near ready to successfully learn the granny square, and she instantly took me back to basics so I could gain confidence instead of feeling defeated. Sometimes I have to work really hard to remind myself: babysteps! :)
Rach
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I am a crocheter and read Kim's tutorial and found it to be useful. My question is why do people think that the granny square is the way to start it took me quite some time to get a granny sqaure and I was pretty competent at chains, single, double and treble crochets and making shells, and some clusters. I swear teaching them how to do a chain, then a row (or many) of single crochet and then a row (or many of double) is the way to start a newbie out. Then you can start working on chain spaces etc.
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