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Growing up, I saw both my of grandmas crochet. One always made blankets and the other made dish scrubbies and lace work. My mom sews. I cook and bake (LOL). But I am to the point where one of my grandmas has passed away and my other grandma is 96 and I am facing the fact that while I learned MANY skills from them, like cooking and baking, I wont be learning these domestic skills from either of them. So I’m on a journey to learn how to knit and crochet.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

BUT

But I want to learn and carry on the traditions. I lightheartedly use the term granny hobby, but for me its more than that. A granny hobby is a continuation of the skills they have already taught me and more of their legacies I can carry on.

I polled my instagram and facebook communities about knitting and crocheting and y’all came through! You gave me some great advice and recommendations. On this post, I am sharing it all!

PIN IT FOR LATER

Just tap the links on the table of contents for this post to jump to a specific area or just keep scrolling to keep reading this whole post. And dont worry! I will link all accounts and resources below.

Your Advice on Which Habit to Start

  • “Knitting will give you a denser/warmer fabric. Crochet, while very pretty can have a very open weave. Even the tightest crochet stitches wouldn’t be as warm as knitting. You can make beautiful hats/scarves with crochet, but they wouldn’t be as warm.”
  • “Crochet is def easier. The biggest thing is getting the muscle memory down. Learn a basic stitch and practice making swatches until it feels comfortable. You only need a hook and yarn. But the hook size depends on the type of yarn, and the type of yarn weight depends on the project. TL Yarncrafts on YouTube is the best to learn from honestly.”
  • “Crochet might be easier in the short term but honestly, knitting is so much more practical and beautiful. Historically crochet is decorative because it takes forever and you don’t get a “right” and “wrong” side fabric like you do with knitting. I started out crocheting as a teenager and then taught myself to knit after my second was born bc I was so frustrated by how slow and expensive and limited crochet was. Knitting uses less yarn, there’s way more high quality patterns, it’s faster, and you can produce much more functional items like sweaters and mittens. Just my 2 cents.”
  • Choose a teacher with the same dominant hand as you
  • Keep your shoulders/hands relaxed when crocheting
  • Crochet is all about hook movement
  • Youtube. Youtube. Youtube. Youtube. Youtube… (I think you get it, we are gong to go to Youtube!)

Meet the EXPERT Channels and Social Accounts to Follow to successfully learn how to knit and crochet

I had more suggestions for Crochet than I did knitting, so we will start with Crochet accounts first. The most recommended accounts were BellaCoco and TL Yarn Crafts. I will link both of their accounts for you and the other recommendations as well. I did watch BOTH creators. While I can see why Bella Coco was recommended the most, the only caveat I can see is that she is English (british) and some of the UK terms are different than what we would use in the USA. That being said, just watching a few of Toni (TL Yarn Crafts) videos, I immediately felt like, I can crochet(!) and I dont even have any items yet. I highly recommend Toni’s Channels for crochet and fro knitting Sheep and Stitch.

Here are a few of the knitting accounts you suggested:

The only creator I am seeing that covers BOTH knitting and crochet is Darling Jadore. Also, not a mentor but a site mentioned to obtain patterns: Ravelry and I have a Pinterest Board with loads of ideas.

here’s the tools you need to knit and crochet:

For Crochet you need, hooks, yarn, scissors, and stitch markers

For Knitting, you need needles and yarn. I did ask my friend Cora, why some needles have wire attached and some dont. Her reply, “because sometimes you want to knit a circular something, like a hat, sweater, bag, etc and the cord lets you make the circle really easily…its also easier to store my works in progress and I feel less weight on my wrists.”

Heres what I bought:

Someone said, “DONT USE AMAZON only go to walmart or hobby lobby.” I totally get this! I really do, but I want to point out accessibility. My nearest walmart and hobby lobby is several hours away, shocking I know, so amazon is the best option for me to get going. That being said, I’ll share my Amazon list with you (and what I paid for the items):

Why did I buy what I did?

How I chose my items was based upon friend recommendations, price, reviews and my end goals. For my crochet hooks, I headed the advice from YouTube and the reviews shared that clover amour was the best. Well clover really from everything I’ve seen and read. If you craft with fiber, use clover.

When I make something, it is about practicality. My end goals for learning how to knit and crochet are to craft: headbands, hats, dish towels, wash cloths, dish scrubbies, blankets, the everyday items we use.

Put simply, my crafted items needs to serve a purpose.

I did have to restrain myself from buying it all, especially the stitch, soak, scrub yarn to make grandmas scrubbies. Ultimate, I decided to just practice first and use the knit picks dishie yarn first.

What about a kit?

Woobles were a hot and popular suggestion. Why did I not buy a wooble kit? Ultimately, it came down to its not a practical item for me to make and I personal feel like its a waste of my money. I know that sounds harsh, but I’m just not a “cutsie” person like this. If I make something I want to use it (or wear it), it needs a purpose.

Now there were other kits available but ultimately I just decided for my investment into this hobby, buying simply works best for me. I also know that I want to be using as much natural fiber (wool) as possible and didnt want to have a stash of acrylic and fake fibers.

Screenshot

Yarn

There are so many yarns on the market and honestly its a bit overwhelming. When starting out, I do think having just a few cheapy skeins of yarn is important. I know I am going to make mistakes but I dont mind when it’s “cheap”. It’s a bit more difficult to make a crochet/knit mistake when investing in higher quality yarns on my first project when oh oooops. I have no ideas what I am doing and just blundered my whole project.

Sourcing Yarn from Small Business:

I want to take a moment to highlight some incredible fiber artists and makers. I respect each one of these makers and their talents. The majority, if not all, are sources for natural yarn like wool. I hope that you take the time to search these makers sites, order from them and let them know I sent you.

now it’s time to wait for my order to arrive so that I can begin my journey to learn how to knit and crochet. I hope this post helps you in your journey too.

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