Crafty and Caffeinated: 5 Crochet Blogs Every Beginner Should Read!

My crochet-ducation started out with some determination, a single "I" hook and a couple balls of yarn. However, to say that "I taught myself to crochet" would be a massive disservice to those bloggers who, collectively, taught me everything I know! I scoured google and streamed YouTube videos one after another to learn even the basics, but my journey from that first set of leg warmers has been paved by others. Featured here are 5 bloggers that were instrumental in my first year of learning to crochet beautiful things!

(If your post is featured here and you would like it removed, please let me know!)

1. Crochet School by Crafty Minx

PHOTO CREDIT: Craftyminx.com

The first stitch of my very first swatch was a result of this series by Crafty Minx, so it has to be at the top of today's post. The Google gods pointed me here, and while I have mentioned it before, there would be no tribute post without acknowledging who it was that first got yarn onto my hook! This series was exactly what I needed - her lessons followed a logical progression with great explanations, step by step instructions, slow motion videos, FAQ's and common mistakes. It moved quickly enough to keep me interested and for the keeners, she even has a graduation/diploma!

2. Jogless Stripes by NeedleNoodles

For the first round of slippers I made for our kids, Caleb requested horrible, bright orange stripes. I hadn't yet figured out how to make the stripes line up properly, so they were zigging and zagging and looked terrible. After briefly considering positioning the uneven join on the bottom of his foot, I instead went back to Google and landed at NeedleNoodles' "Jogless Stripes" post. If your stripes look like stair steps it is definitely worth heading to her tutorial. This post has two methods, one for working in a spiral and one for in the round. Go forth and fix your stripes!

PHOTO CREDIT: Christen Haden at http://NeedleNoodles.com

3. Magic Circle by Micah Makes

It took me a few tries to get the magic circle down, but the post "How to Make a Magic Circle" at micahmakes.com cleared up any confusion I had. I find the Magic Circle method a less secure starting method than some others, but it is definitely a technique that I am glad to have in my back pocket.

4. Invisible decrease by Planet June

The black arrow in the first photo is pointing to a traditional decrease, or single crochet two together (sc2tog). These decreases are very visible and leave bumps where the stitches are combined. Planet June's Invisible Decrease eliminates these bumps and as you can see from my photo of the blue hat, it isn't easy to tell the decrease from the regular stitches.

5. The Invisible Fasten Off by Stitch Story

PHOTO CREDIT: Shelby at http://www.stitch-story.com/

Many instructions for fastening off state something to the effect of "... cut your yarn approximately six inches away from your work and pull the cut end through the last stitch to knot." While this does secure the cut end, the result is an ugly bump where the knot is formed. The Invisible Fasten Off technique by StitchStory.com creates a smooth edge that mimics the 'V' of a regular stitch. I use this fasten off for anything crocheted in the round. Brilliant!

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