This year, a big goal of mine is to learn how to crochet. I’d had no prior experience (except my mom trying to teach me as a kid and me failing). To be honest, even as an adult, I struggled majorly to figure it out! It did not come easily to me. So I decided to break it down into doable everyday lessons that make it easy to succeed! Here’s how to crochet for beginners if you want to learn too!

how to crochet for beginners

Let’s begin with what NOT to do. And that is- don’t buy one of those kits to make a little stuffed animal and try that first. Yes, they are marketed for beginners. And yes, you will in fact get so frustrated you throw your crochet hook. They are too tricky if you have zero crocheting experience in my humble opinion. If you have one, tuck it away for later.

Instead, I’m going to break crochet down into some daily practices. Because we need to learn the basics first! It does have a steep learning curve, but it is also figure-out-able. All you need is 15 minutes a day for 7 days and then you can start making a scarf!

For each day, you even get a badge of achievement. You’ll have easy daily steps and the badges will help you feel like you’re accomplishing something worthwhile. Because you are! I know it’s tempting to just start making something, but we need the building blocks first. Trust me, when you can crochet without any help, the time you put in learning will be worth it.

day 1- make your own crochet supply kit!

Alright, let’s get started with how to crochet for beginners! We’re going to begin with the shopping part- aka building the crochet diy kit. Which let’s face it, shopping is always fun!

I am a HUGE fan of having little DIY kits that I can quickly grab to do during a long drive or a soccer game. I have one for embroidery, water color painting, and now let’s make one for crochet!

SUPPLIES

Yarn
Crochet Kit (which is super affordable and includes scissors, hooks, stitch markets, tapestry needle, and measuring tape)
Makeup bag or other zippable pouch

Let’s talk about yarn. Start with a medium-weight yarn (it usually says “worsted weight” or size 4 on the label). Light colors are way easier to learn with because you can actually see your stitches. Dark yarn is beautiful, but it’s basically crochet on hard mode when you’re a beginner.

Hint- buy a new ball of yarn because the label will tell you what size crochet hook to use- making it easier to start. The crochet hooks in the kit come in 12 sizes (2mm-8mm) so it’ll have exactly what you need for your yarn.

Put everything into a makeup bag (or cute pouch) so it’s easy grab-and-go. Place it somewhere visible so it’s easy to grab. I like mine next to my bed because that’s where I’m practicing every night.

🏅 Day 1 Badge: “Bag Lady (But Make It Craft)”

day 2- Yarn Orientation Day

Goal: Yarn familiarity + muscle memory

Today we’re going to start actually working with the yarn- which sounds scary, but I promise it isn’t! While we do it, we’re going to watch a YouTube video. I fell in love with Bella Coco- she does her tutorials slow enough a beginner can actually follow along to them. AND she makes them in left handed and right handed instructions! I am left handed so this is a game changer for me!

Here is the left handed video for today. And here is the right handed video.

Set a timer for 15 minutes and follow along with the video. The goal is to make a slip knot, learn how to hold the hook and yarn, and create 10 chain stitches. This seems like a lot, but it’s totally doable in the 15 minutes!

Pause and rewind as needed while you crochet to the instructions. Once the timer has gone off, you have successfully started crocheting without crying (or only cried a little). Congratulations! Sometimes getting started is the hardest part!

🏅 Day 2 Badge: “The Yarn Whisperer”

day 3- Slip Knot City

Goal- You can start crochet on your own, without watching the video!

Today, we’re going to practice making slip knots. Set your 15 minute timer and watch 2:41-3:10 on Bella Coco episode 1. Try making 10 slip knots so that you really get it! Make 10, undo 9, keep 1. This is how you’ll start every crocheting piece so it’s important to get it down. And it’s easy to do!

If you have extra time, keep watching the video (episode 1) and practice slip chain stitching as well until the timer goes off.

🏅 Day 3 Badge: “Knot Today, Satan”

day 4- Chain Gang

Today is all about chain stitching!

Again, set the timer for 15 minutes and focus just on the crochet. We’re going to chain stitch for the whole time. For this, watch 3:10-6:25 on Bella Coco episode 1.

Make as many chain stitches as you can- don’t worry about counting, just vibe and make those chains! At the end of the 15 minutes, keep 11 of the chain stitches (for tomorrow’s crocheting).

Goal- be able to chain stitch (CH) without watching the video

At this point you can make a slip knot, can hold the yarn properly, and do a chain stitch on your own- fundamentals, baby!

If you have extra time and feel like you’ve mastered the chain stitch, start watching and crocheting with Episode 2.

🏅 Day 4 Badge: “Chain Smoker (Fiber Edition)”

day 5- First Single Crochet

For day five, let’s watch Episode 2 of crochet for beginners. We’re going to focus on practicing US Single Crochet (SC). Note, I’m putting the shorthand term for the stitches in parentheses so you can get used to it for when you, one day, do crochet off a pattern.

But for now, let’s work on Single Crochet for 15 minutes. This was a little tricky for me and took some time to get the hang of. I was able to get 3 rows in (made it to 8:08 in the video).

If it was hard for you too, that’s ok! You tried and that’s what counts. You made actual stitches that will one day be super easy to do without thinking. We’re building muscle memory and that can be hard. Snaps for you!

🏅 Day 5 Badge: “Single and Thriving”

day 6- Row, Row, Row Your Yarn

It’s the day that you learn how to crochet rows back and forth. Which is so exciting! This is when the yarn looks like more than some knots. Start where you ended off in Episode 2 of crochet for beginners. If you didn’t get very far, begin at the 3:00 minute mark.

The goal for today is to crochet rows back and forth for 15 minutes and learn turning chains. Don’t worry too much about doing it perfectly, the point is to start getting the rhythm down and practice adding rows.

🏅 Day 6 Badge: “Rowmance Novel”

day 7- Edge Awareness

Today on day 7 of how to crochet for beginners, we’re going to continue practicing the Single Crochet (episode 2).

The focus, now that you have the rhythm going, is to not lose stitches. Which I found tricky! I’d lose stitches especially at the end of the rows. So watch the video closely to try and get that part right, because it can be hard to see where to put the hook as it really doesn’t look like the rest of the row.

Make as many rows of Single Crochet as you can in 15 minutes so that your edges are nice and straight. I lost 2 stitches, but I’m understanding why and how to prevent that. Which is progress.

🏅 Day 7 Badge: “Edge Lord”

why this works

I know this might feel a little slow at first. You might be asking yourself why not just start making something cute right away?

But crochet is one of those things where your hands really do need time to catch up to your brain. When I first tried to learn, I kept thinking I was “bad at it.” But really, I just didn’t have any muscle memory yet. Nothing was automatic. Every single step felt like a decision I had to think through. It felt slow and painful.

So breaking it into 15-minute pieces (and the badges that go with them) actually does something kind of magical- it removes the pressure to “be good” and just lets you repeat the same small things over and over until they finally stick. That repetition is what builds the skill, not talent. Not natural ability. Just repetition.

And honestly, that’s also why beginners get overwhelmed. It’s not that crochet is impossible- it’s that most people try to do too much too fast and end up skipping the part where it actually starts to click. So they stay frustrated and are more likely to give up.

So this little system isn’t just about learning quickly. It’s about letting your hands learn even though your brain would like to rush ahead.

And one day (sooner than you think), you’ll pick up your hook and realize you’re not thinking about it anymore. You’re just doing it.

let’s make a scarf

At this point, after 7 days of practice, I stopped with my daily 15 minutes of watching the video and learning skills. Instead, I just crocheted and focused on being able to keep the stitches uniform and not loosing any stitches.

Once I had that down, it was time to start my first project- a scarf. So I bought nice yarn (2 skeins) and started crocheting! When choosing the yarn I selected an option with wool so it’d be super warm in the winter. One of my reasons for wanting to learn to crochet was so I could have a nicer material. I also choose a thicker yarn so it’d stitch up faster.

I made the scarf 3-1/2″ wide and whenever I had extra time I’d crochet. Starting was a little slow- I did have to watch episode one again to remember how to begin. But then I could crochet without any help during soccer games and road trips- it was so nice!

To join the two skeins of yarn together, I watched this video on “the magic knot.” Then, to hide the tails of yarn and finish the scarf, I watched this video on “the invisible finish.” Other than that, I was using the muscle memory I learned and really enjoying the process!

It took me a few weeks to finish my scarf, but I finally wasn’t an absolute beginner now! I never counted rows for this scarf, I just kept going until it was 90″ long (aka long enough to tie a big bow out of, lol). At this point I was an accomplished crocheter! Yay! And I had a cute scarf to prove it.

I now absolutely love crochet! It’s my favorite activity to do when I have down time- like at night while watching TV or listening to an audio book with my son.

Have you heard that crochet also has mental health benefits?! It acts as a meditative time- the repetition with the creative outlet helps lower stress, anxiety, chronic pain, and even depression. Plus you get the amazing feeling of accomplishment when you finish! I’ve even read that it helps fight Alhezheimer’s! Yay for crafting saving us all!

Knitting vs. Crochet

Let’s talk about the difference between knitting and crochet. Because they’re totally different and just because one, doesn’t mean the other will be easier to pick up.

Crochet uses one hook and builds stitches one at a time. It feels a little more structured and forgiving, especially for beginners. If you mess up, it’s usually easy to pull back a few stitches and fix it without unraveling everything.

Knitting uses two needles and holds multiple live stitches at once. It creates a softer, stretchier fabric and is amazing for things like sweaters and socks. But it can feel a little more “slippery” when you’re first learning because everything is connected.

I started with crochet because it is generally considered faster and easier than knitting to learn.

crochet fun facts

The word crochet comes from the French word “crochet” which means hook. Simple and on the nose!

Crochet cannot be replicated by machines. Which means every piece of crochet you see was made by hand.

There are many famous celebrities and historical figures who have crochet. Including Queen Victoria, Madonna, Katy Perry, and Aretha Franklin.

conclusion

I absolutely love being a crocheter now. Yes, it was hard at first. This post covers the exact steps I took to get started and I hope they help you learn how to crochet for beginners. I’m now on my second project- a neckerchief and learning the Half Double Crochet stitch (which is episode 3). I spent 15 minutes learning the stitch and have been using it while continuing to stack my skills.

Please let me know in the comments if you found this helpful. Happy crocheting!

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