Beginner
resource guide.
You have the yarn. You have the hook. You are standing there trying to figure out what comes next. This is where you start.
I was in Walmart and ended up in a conversation with two women who crochet. The first was working on a single crochet blanket and was frustrated because her project looked inconsistent. The stitches were not uniform. Some rows felt loose, others felt tighter, and she could not figure out why because she had not changed her yarn or her hook.
I started asking her questions. How are you holding the hook? Is it always in the same position? She walked me through how she was working, and it became clear. Her hold was shifting without her realizing it. Sometimes looser, sometimes tighter, and that inconsistency was showing up directly in her stitches. That is tension. She did not even know that was a thing yet. Once I explained it, it clicked.
She had a plan to cut the project at a certain point and sew the pieces back together. I told her I would not recommend it. You are going to waste yarn and time, and the join is going to show. The real answer was to frog it back, start fresh with a consistent hold, and take her time. She did not want to hear that. But that was my honest answer.
Then I met Miss Joan and her daughter Avery. Miss Joan had a different kind of energy. She genuinely wanted to understand. She had patience. She trusted me to help her. And I realized standing there in that aisle that I had nothing to hand her. No guide, no link, nothing written down. Just what was in my head.
This page is what I should have had ready that day. Miss Joan, if you ever find this. This one is for you. And for anyone else who is just starting out and looking for somewhere to begin.
TaniA few things
I want you to know.
- Your work is going to look different in the beginning. And that is okay. I look at the things I was making in 2017 compared to now and it is just different. Same tools. The only thing that changed was knowledge and experience from consistently doing the same thing over and over again. That is what growth looks like.
- It is going to take time, patience, and experience. Unless you were some kind of crochet heir in a past life and those skills just activated, you are going to have to take your time. And that is perfectly fine. The more you do it, the better it gets. That is just how it works.
- Crochet is muscle memory. Your hands are learning a completely new movement right now. There is no shortcut around that. Be patient with yourself and trust the process.
- You are going to hear the word frogging. It means undoing your work, whether that is a few rows or starting completely over. Even experienced crocheters frog regularly. It is not failure. It is part of the process. And honestly, sometimes frogging is what saves a project and saves your yarn.
- If your hands hurt, put it down. There are ergonomic hooks, stretches, and tools that can help with long sessions. More on that is coming. For now, just listen to your body. Pain is not something you push through.
How to hold
the hook.
Hook grips and how to hold your yarn
There is no single correct way to hold a crochet hook and nobody should tell you there is. Most crocheters land on one of two grips, the pencil grip or the knife grip, and stick with whatever feels natural and comfortable for them. The goal is a relaxed hold. Not tight, not stiff. If your hand is tensing up after a few minutes, something needs to adjust. Try both grips and give yourself permission to figure out what works for you.
A lot of people have found these videos helpful. Until I have my own tutorials up, these are the resources I wanted to share. I hope they help you too.
Tension and
hand position.
Why tension matters more than you think
Tension sounds complicated but it really just means this. How loose or tight is the yarn moving through your fingers as you work? That is it. And the reason it matters so much is because the moment that shifts, even slightly, your stitches shift with it. That is exactly what happened to the woman I met in Walmart. Nothing changed about her hook or her yarn. But something shifted in how she was holding it without her even realizing, and her whole project started looking inconsistent. Once you understand tension, so much starts making sense.
The 3 Best Ways to Hold Your Yarn and Control Your Tension Start here
Give Me 5 Minutes and I'll Fix Your Crochet Tension for Good
If your rows keep shrinking or growing, tension is almost always the reason. Count your stitches at the end of every row. If the number changes, stop, figure out where it went wrong, and frog back. It feels tedious at first but it will save you hours of frustration later.
Take care of
the tools.
I crochet for long, long hours. Sometimes with no break at all. I feel it. I know what it does. And I keep going anyway, which is not something I am proud of and not something I would tell you to do. Your hands are your tools. Treat them that way. Take breaks. Stretch them out. If something is hurting, put it down. I am working on a full guide covering stretches, ergonomic hooks, and tools that can help you crochet comfortably for the long term. That is coming. In the meantime, just listen to your body. It will tell you when it needs a rest.
You are not doing it wrong. You are just learning.
I keep asking God for patience and saying I do not have it. But then I think about Miss Joan. The way she sat there, genuinely wanting to understand, trusting me to help her figure it out. That kind of patience is exactly what this craft asks of you. Your hands will get there. They just need time and repetition and grace. Give yourself that. Keep going.
More is
coming.
This is just the beginning.
These are curated resources until TaniJay has its own tutorials and videos. Once the TaniJay channel launches, this page will be updated with original content first. Follow TaniJay on social media to know when new resources drop.