What the Loop is Crochet?

Let me start with a story on how we ended up here. I have wanted to crochet since my mid-20s. As a person who doesn’t ask for help, if there is something I want to do, I’ll figure it out—on my own. But, I had no idea where to start with this skill. Fast forward almost 15 years, I finally bought my first “beginner’s” crochet kit. It was three cacti, which was perfect for me to complete on a plane flight to Arizona for my graduation from grad school. Except, it was far from perfect for a beginner. The instructions were seemingly written in code. I immediately closed up the box and decided it was too hard. Something else about me, I have tenacity. So of course I bought another kit after the feeling of defeat wore off. It was a simple donut. It took me just one evening to fumble my way through it. Then I realized, it wasn’t even crochet. it was knitting! Lesson learned: CROCHETING IS NOT KNITTING. Now fast forward another few months to when I made an impulsive purchase of another “beginner’s” crochet kit at Target—which is the best place for impulsive purchases. It was a tablet bag, which I wanted to make for my daughter. Since it was going to be for my kid, I was determined to complete it. To my delight, the instructions used real words and had illustrations. I believed I could do it, and I did! It took me a very long time to learn crochet, much due to the inaccessibility of resources to learn it.

This is why I’m here, to help you get started and get looping.

Now to the main topic: What is crochet? Merriam-Webster defines it as, “needlework consisting of the interlocking of looped stitches formed with a single thread and a hooked needle.” The last three words of that definition are what differentiates it from knitting. Crochet uses a single needle with a hook at the end, which is simply called a crochet hook.

Crochet can be wearables, like sweaters or hats.

Merle is an excellent model for a beach cover up which became a scarf after I decided it was taking too long for my short attention span.

Crochet can be functional home products like baskets or coasters.

This crochet oak leaf holds my husband’s watch while its charging.

Crochet can be 2D art like tapestries or appliqués.

My kid had a lot of fun using this snail appliqué in a stop motion video.

Crochet can be 3D art like amigurumi—think adorable stuffies.

My daughter wanted a Bigfoot, so I made her a Bigfoot appropriate for a princess.

As you can imagine, each one of these requires different skills and different types of patience. I do not have the patience to make a wearable because it’s too monotonous. But I do have the patience to loop the tiny details of amigurumi because the work is frequently changing.

The sky is the limit for what you can create with crochet. You picked a great skill to learn!