I've been crocheting for over 5 years now. It started one day when I checked out this book from the library, found an old crochet hook and a ball of yarn that I had left over from another project and made a crochet octopus. The rest is history, I was hooked. It was October of that year and by Christmas I had made 5 crocheted dolls as presents for nieces and nephews. I was actively searching for my next best project. And over the course of five years I have come to learn a few things. Today I have decided to compile them all in one place for the ultimate list of crochet resources.
TOOLS
You don't need a whole lot to start crocheting, but there are a few helpful tools to get you started.
Crochet Hooks - I regularly use sizes 3.75mm, 4mm, & 5mm. I would say having those hook sizes is a great start for being able to work up a lot of patterns. It is also nice to get a good crochet hook set that comes with a variety of sizes so you can size up or down depending on your gauge and how you personally work with yarn. It also ends up being less expensive to get a full set than collect hooks one by one.
Yarn - I love spending time in the yarn aisle finding my favorite colors and feeling the yarn to get the softest and coziest ones. I get a lot of acrylic yarn because it comes it so many colors. It is good for making toys for my kids. I love Lion Brand Heartland Yarn because it is so soft and pretty. I love Scheepjes Catona 50g yarn for making dolls.
Yarn Needles - They are necessary for weaving in ends.
Hook Markers - Really help when you are working in a round or if you want to mark your first and last stitch in any sort of project.
Safety Eyes - When I was first making stuffed animals and dolls I realized that there are special eyes to get that make it so they stay on nice and tight through your crochet stitches. You can find a wide variety of sizes and kinds on amazon which is nice because in-store the selection is often pretty minimal.
WEBSITES AND BOOKS
The first book I ever got was Whimsical Stitches which was a book I used to make some simple Amigurumi. It was fun to make an Octopus, Pig, Narwhal, Turtle, Cupcakes, and Cactus plants for my kids and husband. I learned that the author of this books has a website called A Menagerie of Stitches and I have enjoyed going on to her website to get more patterns. I especially loved making some of her seasonal bunnies as decoration for our home for various holidays.
I absolutely adore Green Frog Crochet Patterns. I have made about 15 of her princess doll patterns and they all worked up so well. I also love her Harry Potter Dolls. I loved making a collection for my girls and have enjoyed making them for my girls to give as gifts to friends. She also has so many patterns I would love to make in the future and is constantly coming out with new patterns.
If you are interested in making the most unique beautiful Granny Squares you've ever seen, The Ultimate Granny Square Sourcebook is amazing. I truly am in awe at how people have figured out how to create stitches that make such a beautiful and detailed result. It's very cool and there are so many ways you can use granny squares to make bigger projects like blankets, cardigans, bags etc.
This Crochet Stitch Dictionary as well as Bella Coco's Crochet Stitch Library are both great resources if you want to learn a huge variety of fun and interesting stitches. I used them to make a beautiful blanket for my daughter with the stitch I most loved. It is really cool if you are wanting to try your hand at making your own creations.
My daughter loves Harry Potter and was planning a Harry Potter themed Birthday for when she turned 11. I found this Crochet Wizardry book and decided to make the sorting hat for her as a present and it turned out so amazing. There were a couple of other patterns that looked really fun to make as well and I'll probably give them a try for future gifts.
Most recently I found Briana K Designs and she created what she calls the Wheat Stitch and uses it to make all sorts of things. I think it is an absolutely gorgeous stitch and so easy to work up. I have been making hats for everyone as gifts this last year because they are so quick to make and look so professional and beautiful. She has patterns on her blog and often on YouTube as well, so if you learn better by watching videos she is a great teacher.
Well I think that's a great starting point. I'll be sure to come back to this post in the future and update it as I find more amazing things to craft. Until then let me know in the comments some of your favorite crochet resources!
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