Crochet Tips & Tricks
Ultimate Resource Guide for Beginner Crocheters

Ultimate Resource Guide for Beginner Crocheters

Are you a beginner crocheter looking to learn? First, welcome to the crochet club! Seriously, the crochet community is filled with some FANTASTIC people who love sharing their knowledge. This ultimate resource guide for beginner crocheters will give you a great starting point to dive in and learn more!

There’s no ONE perfect resource to learn all things crochet. Thankfully, there’s a bunch of awesome people out there who share their knowledge. I’ve gathered a manageable list of resources here to get you started.

To get started, this article will be broken down into 5 sections with 3-4 resources per section. (There’s many more, but we’re not going for a novel here). I learned a lot from everyone on this list and learn more everyday.

Be sure to Pin this post for later or bookmark it to reference later! Without further ado, let’s dive in!

Disclaimer: I’m based in the US, so most resources here will be for crocheting in US terms.

Ultimate Resource Guide for Beginner Crocheters

1. Crochet Basics

gauge swatch image for blog post
Image by Chanel of cbfiberworks.

Defined: The basics includes how to crochet, stitches, hook sizes and yarn.

If you’re an absolute beginner I know this already seems like a lot, but don’t worry. It’s actually a lot simpler than you think.

Resources:

  • Craft Yarn Council: CYC sets industry standards like abbreviations and is a great place to reference.
  • Bella Coco: Sarah-Jayne at Bella Coco is basically a crochet industry giant. Her awesome YouTube channel and blog are expansive with everything from free patterns, tutorials, and great yarn content.
  • SimplyDaisy: Her YouTube channel is wonderful and she has an excellent ‘How to Crochet for Absolute Beginners’ video.
  • B.Hooked Crochet & Knitting: Brittany at B.Hooked has a wealth of information available on her blog and a great YouTube channel full of beginner tutorials and tips.

All these sites and channels are a great place to start if you just picked up a hook, but don’t be limited to just these four. Crochet is unique to each individual. If those listed here don’t help, keep looking, especially on YouTube.

For example, if you’re left-handed, Crochet with Tiffany Hansen does both right and left-handed versions of her tutorials!

2. Basic Crochet Tutorials

easy project image for ultimate resource guide for beginner crocheters
Image by Chanel of cbfiberworks.

Defined: This is everything from stitch/technique tutorials to full patterns.

Some basic projects to get started include: dishcloths, scarves, hats, and blankets.

When I was first learning, I spent an enormous amount of time watching YouTube videos because I didn’t know how to read patterns. So those I’ve listed below are all great YouTube channels.

Resources:

  • Bag-O-Day Crochet: Crystal has literally hundreds of tutorials: everything from bags to garments. Plus she has a ton of yarn content if you want to learn more about fibers and types.
  • Crochet with Tiffany Hansen: Tiffany does left and right-handed tutorials for all sorts of projects from simple to complex.
  • Jayda in Stitches: Jayda and her husband, Mr. In Stitches, are such an entertaining team. Their videos are fun, inspiring and there’s a ton of educational content.

These fantastic ladies are my top three for beginner-friendly video tutorials and all around great crochet/yarn content. The image above is actually one of Crystal’s awesome shawl patterns!

3. Amigurumi

mini octopus amigurumi example for ultimate resource guide for beginner crocheters
Image by Chanel of cbfiberworks.

Defined: Pronounced: ‘Ah-me-goo-roo-me.’ This term is used to describe 3D, stuffed creations (basically stuffed animals).

You might be thinking, ‘woah, that doesn’t look beginner-friendly.’ But typically, amigurumi is made primarily with just single crochet. There’s a TON of easy, beginner patterns out there.

Resources:

  • cbfiberworks: Amigurumi is what I specialize in! I’ve got several free written patterns including a basic, no sew Mini Octopus.
  • olliehollycrochet: Abby has a great YouTube channel full of great basic amigurumi tutorials, tips and patterns.
  • Crochet with Yarnhild: Ragnhild also has several free, easy beginner patterns as well as lots of tutorials on her YouTube channel and blog.

Amigurumi is a whole world within the umbrella of crochet and if you’re interested, subscribe to my newsletter!

4. Crochet Colorwork

colorwork example project for blog post
Image by Chanel of cbfiberworks.

Defined: Basically colorwork is crocheting with 2 or more colors to create designs and patterns.

Like with amigurumi, colorwork could be considered an intermediate skill, but it’s honestly not that hard once you get the hang of it. There’s lots of easy ways to use colorwork in beginner-friendly projects.

Resources:

  • E’Claire Makery: Claire is a QUEEN at colorwork. She’s just wrote a whole book about it, but she also has a bunch of great content for free on her blog and YouTube channel.
  • Divinedebris: Amber from Divinedebris is known for her beautiful colorwork designs and she’s got several free patterns on her blog.
  • The Crochet Crowd: Mikey from the Crochet Crowd is like one of the OG crafters on YouTube and his channel is fantastic for all things crochet, but he has several fun colorwork patterns like graphgans.

All these fantastic crafters have different styles, but they’re all GREAT at explaining colorwork. Seriously, whether you want to try c2c, a graphgan, or something a little trickier, they’ve got you!

5. Reading Crochet Patterns

how to read crochet patterns for blog post
Image by Chanel of cbfiberworks.

Defined: Here we’re focusing on those that teach how to READ crochet patterns (i.e. written instructions for how to crochet a particular item).

It should be noted that while the Craft Yarn Council sets general standards for things like abbreviations, every pattern is different. However, with a little practice, you’ll be able to read any pattern you find!

Resources:

Even though all these resources are on the same topic, we all cover it a bit differently. Whether one source helps or you like all three, I hope these give you confidence when you read your first pattern.

Summary

  • Crochet Basics
  • Basic Crochet Tutorials
  • Amigurumi
  • Crochet Colorwork
  • Reading Crochet Patterns

No matter my skill level, I still watch tutorials on these topics. You never know when something new will catch your eye. Besides, new skills and techniques are being developed every day!

If you liked this article, be sure to bookmark it, Pin it for later, and share it with your crafty friends! Who is your favorite crocheter to follow? Leave a comment below or connect with me on social media @cbfiberworks.

And of course, if amigurumi caught your eye and you want to learn more, stick around! Subscribe to my newsletter to get all sorts of amigurumi content including patterns and tips and tricks!

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