crochet patterns are a different language!

[HomeWithMyBabies]

I've been crocheting for probably twenty five years now. My gramma showed me how to do it when I was a kid but I've only even known the basic stitch. :giggle. So I've made a lot of single crochet scarves and blankets but now I'm trying to branch out. I can do the stitches but I can't follow the patterns.

For example I have a hat pattern that is "easy" and I'm lost at the first line. It says Ch 2. I know what ch means thanks to my new book here, but the book isn't telling me what the instructions are saying. Am I making two chains? Then I'm supposed to RND 1: 7 sc in 2nd ch from hk, do not join-7 sc. I can finally understand what the abreviations stand for but what on earth does that mean? I feel really dense.

[Kiara.I]

Well, I'll try to explain it in English. :giggle

Chain 2. So you make a chain that is two spaces long, right? Now you're making something round. So the *first* space (chain) that you made is now officially the centre of the round thing. The *second* chain is now the bit that gets you "out" to the level of the next round--it's like an elevator.

So now you do 7 single crochet stitches through the middle of that first "chain" you made (which is the 2nd away from the hook, as opposed to the one closest to the hook, which is your "elevator" to the next level. Sometimes if your next stitches are going to be longer, like triple crochets or something, your "elevator" would need to be taller, so it might be "fourth away from the hook" or something.)

So you do your 7 single crochets through that space, but then you don't join them into a complete circle (which you normally would for making round things, by doing a slip stitch through that initial "elevator" chain.)

[HomeWithMyBabies]

I'm gonna have some coffee, and come back to that. :giggle Thank you!

[TestifyToLove]

Actually, they ARE a different language. If you see them as a foriegn language that you simply need to learn how to translate into English, then you will learn how to follow patterns that way. The more proficient you get at translating that language, the better you will get at following patterns.

I pay no attention to skill level of patterns anymore because they are about being able to translate, not whether I can actually do the stitches (not quite that skill level on knitting, as I am still learning really complicated stitches in knitting). If you know the stitches, then it's merely about translation skills.

[Marielle]

Definitely what Kiara and ttl said but also wanted to add that sometimes you have to trust the pattern. By that I mean work the first few repeats even when you can only make sense of the parts and not the whole. Then the stitch art will form before your eyes. Maybe it's just me but I've had many a fight with a pattern because it doesn't make sense in my head before I start.

[HomeWithMyBabies]

I pay no attention to skill level of patterns anymore because they are about being able to translate, not whether I can actually do the stitches (not quite that skill level on knitting, as I am still learning really complicated stitches in knitting). If you know the stitches, then it's merely about translation skills.

That is exactly it!!!

I still can't do it!

[cro]

We need a crochet date. :hug

[HomeWithMyBabies]

Yes!

[Kiara.I]

:poke
Pictures of your attempt. Come on. Step by step, if you want (that will make it lots easier to see *when* you go wrong, if you do. ;) )

[HomeWithMyBabies]

I am so lost on the hat:lol. Seriously, I don't know what I'd photograph. Me going like this :scratch with a wad of yarn in one hand and a hook in the other I think.

However I was able to start a scarf just now and I think I'm doing it right! Yay, another scarf. :giggle We all have a million of my crocheted scarves but this one is double crochet! Woot!

[Kiara.I]

Well, start with the first bit: chain 2. Did that work okay? It just means make a chain that's 2 stitches long.

[TestifyToLove]

Like any foriegn language, it takes immersion and practice to get it.

So, when you are starting out, you take it ONE step at a time. This is a skill you will always use when it's *really* hard, because as Marielle pointed out, sometimes you simply have to just follow the steps and trust the pattern even when you are skilled.

Take your first step, translate it and work it. If you aren't sure how to work it, you can find someone to watch you, or ask questions here. There are also videos online you can watch over and over again to understand it.

First step on this hat, you are going to chain two stitches. Then, put your hook into the first chain you made and in that loop, you are going to do seven single crochets.

It says no to join because you are now going to crochet in a spiral. This is called "in the round" thus the abbreviation rnd instead of row. When you do a row, you turn your work and go back and forth like a typewriter. For rounds, you keep going in a spiral. I use a small safety pin to mark the start of a round so I know when I have gone a full circle.

This first round, you are merely setting up your spiral. You will put all seven of your single crochets into the first chain you made. Then you will go onto the second round without turning your piece to do the spiral technique of working in the round.

All of that said, I will warn you that while in the round is a very simple technique in and of itself, most beginners find it incredibly confusing to learn both how to crochet in general and how to work in the round at the same time. It might be more than you can wrap your brain around when you are starting a new crafting skill.

[HomeWithMyBabies]

I get it!!!!!!! :rockon