I thought I’d post this today, so everyone can practice over the weekend. 🙂
To get us ready for the Christmas CAL, I have compiled a few tips & tutorials to help beginner crocheters or those of us who haven’t crocheted in a while.
The first tip is to become familiar with the crochet lingo. This is a must in order for you to follow the pattern. When I first started crocheting I was super confused. I thought yo mc pat was an ’80s rapper, not a bunch of crochet terms. But, thanks to some abbreviation lists on crochet sites I caught on pretty quickly.
To view a complete list of crochet abbreviations, click here or here. These links are for US terms, so if you are using British crochet terms just Google British crochet abbreviations for a complete list.
For our project, we will only need to know the following terms: repeat (rep), stitches (sts), chain (ch), single crochet (sc), round (rnd), and slip stitch (sl st). Not too bad!
The second tip is to take a few minutes now before starting on the pattern to brush up on the following stitches: chain (ch), slip stitch (sl st), single crochet (sc), and back loops only. These are required for the Christmas Trees pattern. You will also need to know how to make a slip knot so you can attach your yarn to your hook. Some of these stitches are a little more confusing and complicated than others.
Youtube is a great resource for crochet tutorials. My favorite tutor is the knitwitch, so I’ve included her video tutorials and a few others for you to follow. Or, if you prefer to print out and follow illustrated instructions, Annie’s Attic is a great resource.
Slip Knot
Illustrated instructions, here.
Chain (ch)
Illustrated instructions, here.
Slip Stitch (sl st)
Illustrated instructions, here.
Single Crochet (sc)
Illustrated instructions, here.
Back Loop Only
Illustrated instructions, here.
I hope these help. The best advice I can give to you is practice, practice, practice! It took me dozens of tries before I got the hang of the stupid slip knot, but I finally got it. So, stick with it. You’ll be crocheting in no time!
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I am going to be tweaking my blog this weekend and next week. So, if things start to disappear or move that is why. 🙂