7 Common Mistakes of a Newbie Crocheter
By A Guest Writer – 50 CommentsA Guest Post by Caren Wilson.
We all make mistakes, whether we admit it or not. Below are some of the mistakes that I’ve made when I was new to crocheting and also some mistakes that I’ve noticed from others. If you are a crochet newbie, hopefully this list will help you learn from my mistakes and the mistakes of others. If you have a mistake that you would like to share, feel free to leave it as a comment for others to read!
- Miscounting stitches. Although this is a common newbie mistake, it is also a mistake that is made by many crocheters regardless of skill level. Miscounting stitches is probably the single most common mistake amongst all crocheters, since it is so easy to do. When you first start to crochet, try to make it a habit of counting your stitches carefully and using crochet stitch markers to assist you.
- Crocheting in the wrong loop(s). Often times when crocheters are self taught or even taught by friends/family, without formal crochet instructions from a class or instructor, they over look the obvious. Hey, I was guilty of it! Normally when you crochet, you are to insert your hook into both loops of a crochet stitch. Other times you may find it necessary to only crochet in the front or back loops. To learn more about the different loops check out this post: Crochet in Front, Back, or Both Loops
- Skipping the gauge. Gauge is important! It is how you know your crochet project will turn out to be the correct size. It is written in a crochet pattern for a reason. You can learn more about gauges in this post: What the Heck is a Gauge?
- Over thinking it. I’m often asked for crochet help on the most simplest things. I’m not saying this to put anyone down, but to tell you not to over think when you crochet. Crocheting is not rocket science and it isn’t as hard as you may think it is.
- Getting frustrated, frustrated and more frustrated. I’ve been frustrated plenty of times, especially when I first started out learning and crocheting new things. Crocheting is suppose to be fun, so I learned to just relax. Walking away and coming back to a crochet project with a clear head always seemed to work for me. It helps solve whatever crochet obstacle I had to overcome.
- Not asking for help. Don’t be stubborn. If you need help, just ask! Simple as that. If you don’t know where to find help, here is a post that can help: How to Ask for Crochet Help
- Trying to be perfect. Being a perfectionist is great for some things, but give yourself a break when it comes to crocheting. When you are first starting off, just have fun playing with the stitches and learning something new. You can worry about it being perfect later, because chances are it won’t be perfect your first few times. It’ll come with practice.
If you would like to add one of your crochet mistakes to the list, feel free to leave it as a comment!
Caren is a life long crocheter and self proclaimed yarn junkie. In her free time she enjoys crocheting items for charity and playing with her two children. Caren wishes to inspire others to crochet more, learn more, and live more.
Miscounting stitches is my #1 problem – glad to see it was listed (as #1 ironically)! It makes me feel much better. It’s also the reason I haven’t moved on to projects that have “shape” to them like a sweater. I’m going to make a poncho for a friend that I made for myself and had 10 extra stitches on it at the end for some reason. I’m going to religiously use stitch markers for her poncho. Thanks for this post!
My biggest mistake when I was starting out was leaving too short of a tail. I figured I was being responsible with my yarn, plus a short tail meant less working in when I was done, right? I can’t tell you how many projects started unravelling at the begining before I was even finished. Maybe this is obvious to most, but it wasn’t to me.
In number 2 above add the bump or hump on the back as another place a stitch can be placed.
Also I think getting acquainted with the look of the stitches is a good idea. What does each stitch look like when you come across it in the next row, so you know where to place (or not place) the next stitch. I know this was a great help for me when I took the time to really look at the composition of a stitch and realized I had been placing my stitches in the wrong spot. Of course it through my count off and I couldn’t understand why. It came out okay, but was nicer looking when I changed to the correct placement.
What a fun topic. Who doesn’t make mistakes? I am guilty of some of these and I’ve been crocheting a whole lot of years. Count, count, and count again and still get it wrong! LOL I’ve read over and over to put a marker every 25 or 50 stitches so you don’t have to count them all again. I always mean to do this, but invariably I forget. Now and then I will remember and it is SUCH a help when counting not only stitches on rows but rows on a lengthy project with set number of rows. Safety pins are great for this.
I don’t think I crochet in the wrong loop unless I misunderstand the pattern. I have a habit of skimming rather than actually reading. Bad Bad. heh I also don’t think I have ever in my life done a gauge swatch. Of course I don’t make clothes, just afghans, scarves and hats and such so gauge is not as important. Again, bad me.
If a project is frustrating me continuously, I move on. Life is too short.
I also get questions which sometimes seem so self-explanatory to me, but I do remember being new to the craft and trying to decipher this foreign language. I try to remember my roots and think of different words to use to describe the instructions. 🙂
I am somewhat of a perfectionist and have to force myself to move on if I make an error that is really not important or visible in the finished work. If it is something only I will know and will not affect the use of the product, I try to let it go. Sometimes I succeed and other tips it is froggin’.
Thanks for the article, Rachel. You always inform and entertain me.
A big thing for me was finding out there were two crochet languages, US and UK. Before I found that out I was doing the wrong stitches, no wonder some patterns were frustrating!
I’m definitely guilty of over-thinking things and trying too hard for perfection. And miscounting stitches 🙂 Though, I don’t do that as much now as I used to (I’ve been crocheting for almost a year now). I will say, I’ve never done a gauge swatch. But I don’t think it’s really that important for certain types of projects. I’ve not made anything clothes related, where size really matters, so checking gauge isn’t really a necessity for me.
COUNTING!!! Misunderstanding the pattern. . . =/
it took me ages to figure out when i started (and it wasn’t until i came across your site Rachel) that you were meant to crochet it both loops normally and only one if required.
the other mistake i made.. was never knowing how much yarn to buy… i remember i thought that a ball of yarn should do a whole project… so that meant a lot of returns to the store in the hope of finding the same colour batch at first!
oh.. and i’m still not so good with the stitch counting…
These are such great tips Rachel! Especailly number 6. My crocheting didn’t get anywhere close to decent until I discovered my LYS’s hooking group.
When I taught crochet to those who could already do a little of it the most common mistake I had seen was while doing crochet in the round they would go to the next round without closing the previous round and so leaving an unfinished end and a very messy couple of stitches at the beginning and end of each row. Once I showed them the proper way they always wondered why they had a bump on their work..
Teena, I agree with you! I found a really cute pattern for some flowers a few months ago that was written in UK. I started crocheting it and it turned out to be an egg somehow… It wasn’t until then I figured it out.
Gauge has always been my downfall. The first thing I ever crocheted (a queen-sized afghan) ended up with one end 4 1/2 feet wide and the opposite end 7 feet wide. It took me years to figure that out! And I usually crochet far more tightly than most people, so I have to choose slightly larger yarns and hooks that are at least 1 to 2 sizes larger than suggested in a pattern.
Jeanne-
I think that would be more an issue of consistency than gauge. I know that I don’t use gauge at all, but I’ve never really done anything that absolutely needs it. I think unless you’re making clothes or something that needs an exact fit, as long as you’re consistent, gauge doesn’t really matter.
A corollary to #1 – not checking the pattern to determine whether the turning chain counts as the first stitch on that row/round. And I’d add #8 – not keeping an even and comfortable tension as you crochet. When I first started I tended to cut off the circulation in my finger! Then I’d loosen the thread too much, ‘cuz my finger ached. My projects could most kindly be described as “interesting.”
I have crocheted for over 45 years and am open to all the new ideas that are out there. I recently started making some garments after years of afghans, baby blankets, scarves, etc. I really enjoy them HOWEVER I hate it when a pattern is shown in a photo and they manage to hide the real flaws! They seem to pose the models to hide specific areas that are not as attractive as they should be. Why? If I spend a lot of time on an item I would like it to have an overall good fit. This has nothing to do with gauge; I have made tops with ties way too long, sleeves that pucker in the back because they did not take time to shape the sleeve and patterns that don’t show the item in sections so one can see the measurements. But the biggest thing is photographing them to make them look better than they actually are. I think magazines that publish patterns for the general public have an obligation to make sure that the overall product looks good and not only when certain aspects have to be hidden.
Good morning everyone~
I have a problem that I can solve. I have a fairly simple pattern, it’s a wave pattern, rows of half double, than crochet 3 stitches to make the peak, crochet stitches, than de-crease 3 stitches, ok that’s pretty simple. chain stitch at the end & turn. After I put in about 4 rows, i end up picking up stitches, oops, & there I go, IS THIS ALL THE MIS-COUNTING I DO? CAN ANYONE GIVE ME SOME ADVISE? thanx so very much.
Hi PJ, yes it does sound like you are miscounting stitches if you are accidentally adding more and more. You can try using stitch markers to help you count. Some folks like to put a marker (scrap of yarn, paper clip, safety pin) every few stitches (such as every 10 stitches or so, whatever is appropriate for your pattern) to help them count.
I am new at this and after I make about a dozen rows, the bottom looks all rippled instead of flat. And tapering in with each row. I am trying to make an afghan.
Hello! Here are some tips in this post that will help you: 7 Tips to Establish Consistency in Crochet
was recently given a project to finish his stiches are much tighter than I can get but he did not count stictiches that’s obvious its like eight feet long and starting to curve if I skip a stitch every 10 or so will it straighten it out without taking the entire thing apart. really don’t want to do that. Should I go down to where he ended and count his stiches to keep it straight or rather to get it back straight.
Hi Beatrice!
I’m not sure what you are making, but if you want it to look perfect, it sounds like you should start over if you want it to be straight. If you just want your part to be straight, you can probably just continue to crochet and be careful not to add any more stitches.
I think you have two options here. 1) rip it out and start over with the correct count put a marker at about every 50 stitches if it is exceptionally long. Skipping stitches will just make problems in the long run. 2) If you know the number of stitches necessary and there are more than you need on this length, just turn and crochet into each stitch until you have the required number the start with the tail and pull out each unnecessary individual stitch. This is time consuming but better than re-doing the whole chain and definitely better than skipping stitches.
Hi i need some help.
Im also fairly new to crochet, ive been teaching myself through videos online. I have made four projects so far. im happy with them all however i have a problem with my last project. i made a wavy pattern and im finished with it, it was supposed to be a a baby blanket but it turned out really long in length, is there a way to shorten the length?
Hi Aysha! Congrats on learning to crochet, I hope you are enjoying it so far! The only way I can think of to shorten the length is to undo part of the blanket. If you are adding to the length each row, then you can take out some of the rows.
Hi Rachel! thank you for the quick reply. thank you im really enjoying it a lot.
About my blanket as i add the rows thats my width, my length was from my first chains that
i started with. I added wrong i guess and made it too long i want cry haha i dont know if i should
just used it as is and gift to my cousin who is about to have a baby or just keep it with myself,
it really pretty though.
We’ve all been there, you’re not alone! It’s up to you if you want to keep it or give it as a gift. Sometimes when I mess things up I take it apart and reuse the yarn. It happens a lot!
Haha thanx alot of your help Rachel
i just read about making a gauge maybe next time i will make
one for a pattern im not sure about
Hi Rachel! thank you for the quick reply. thank you im really enjoying it a lot.
About my blanket as i add the rows thats my width, my length was from my first chains that
i started with. I added wrong i guess and made it too long i want cry haha i dont know if i should
just used it as is and gift to my cousin who is about to have a baby or just keep it with myself,
it really pretty though.
Hello
i have another question, how do i crochet a mini anchor
im looking for videos on how to do so but cat find anything
Hmm… I don’t think I have an anchor pattern on the site. But if you do a google search for it, it’s possible there is a pattern for it out there somewhere 🙂
If you make 13 chain at the beginning of a project, & dc into 3rd chain from hook, how can that give you 12 doc at the end??? The maths don’t add up.
Hi Lynn!
If you are doing dc in 3rd ch from hook, you’ll skipping the first 2 dc, so that 13 – 2 = 11 dc. Depending on the pattern, the chains you skilled counts as 1 dc, so that would be 11 + 1 = 12 dc total.
Thanks Rachel. What do you mean by chains skilled?
Whoops, that was a typo. It should say… chains you skipped counts as 1 dc.
I have mistakenly added an extra stitch when doing popcorn stitch rows. I thought about decreasing in the particular popcorns next row but decide against it….I pull the thread out and do rhe row over. Would decreasing work?
Redoing it will probably give you the best outcome if you want it to be exactly as you planned. You can try some decreasing and see how it goes, there’s no harm in experimenting!
Kiaora, and hello
i am a self taught beginner through watching you tube clips. I have made 2 squares im happy with them but seem to have problems with closing a round and always end up with an extra post/hole please help i am somewhat of a perfectionist and can’t get past this to graduate onto actually nearing completing something thank you other posts were helpful.
I am a true beginner and my problem is that I don’t know what is the correct stitch to crochet in. I end up loosing stitches or adding stitches!
I know how to do single and double crochet stitches but get really confused on where to put the crochet hook into the next stitch. I have looked at videos but they do not spend time clarifying this enough for me:(
Can you help? Thank you!
Hi Sandra, check out this post: http://www.crochetspot.com/crochet-in-front-back-or-both-loops/
It explains the front and the back loops in crochet and where to insert your hook.
What a great tip board! I’m a beginner, as well, but am getting braver and braver with patterns. I too get mixed up with where to start my first stitch – especially when it says to “crochet into the same stitch as the ch2” Is that another way of saying (in NON crochet terms) start in the first stitch? I could just go batty!! I ended up just assuming that and it looks okay, but I hate not knowing if I did it right!!
Hi Kristen! Yes, you are correct! The “same stitch” is the first stitch, it will look like the chain is sticking out of it.
Hi Rachel!
What a great tips you wrote there!
Oh I am bloody-desperate-crochet-begginer, i am making hook’s case right now with star stitch (I have only 2 hooks and I am so happy already haha). It supposed to be rectangle shape when finish, but i do make it trapezoid! Even still far from finish line but too far from start line. I count every row and they have same star stitches, 20 star stitches. But it keeps trapezoid (or diamond). So i just continue, desperately.
Do you know what i might do wrong? So i can avoid those mistakes another time. Thank you Rachel.
Hello! If it is a trapezoid shape maybe you are adding stitches on one side and missing stitches on the other, which makes it lean to one side. That’s just my guess, it’s hard to tell without actually being there and seeing it. Keep up the practicing and crocheting!
Im an experienced crocheter yet when doing rounds Im not sure where to sl st at the beginning. Especially with (ch 1or 2 then sc, hdc, or dc in same st) I cant see well enough where the go in video tutorials. My count often comes out wrong from the pattern, especially frustrating with slipper and baby bootie soles. I wind up revising. So time consuming. Can you help me?
Hi Anita! Where you are suppose to slip stitch will depend on the crochet pattern you are using.
If it says to slip stitch into the top of the beginning chain, they you will make your slip stitch into the chain that you made at the beginning of the round. For example, if you chained 2, you will make your slip stitch into the top chain, the second chain, that you made.
If the patterns says to slip stitch into the first stitch, such as the first double crochet, you will skip over the beginning chain and make the slip stitch into the first double crochet you made on that round.
Some patterns don’t even require you to join with a slip stitch. If there is no join noted in the pattern then you are working in a spiral without joining.
Most of the time if your stitch count is off, it isn’t because of where you join, but because of where you are making your first and last stitches on the rounds. Be sure to count your stitches as you crochet to help yourself keep track of how many you have. Also be sure to not work into the slip stitch (the joining stitch) unless specified to, because it doesn’t usually count as one of the stitches.
I used to have that problem too until I found that it helps to make the joining slip stitches tight so as not to confuse them as a stitch when working in rounds
Well I am just starting crocheting, and believe you me I have came across a lot that has confused the heck out of me! You see I began this for two reasons one my daughter had a baby my frist grand baby and I thought I could make him a car seat blanket, lol it has been two years now and I have only begun to learn out of books and some of the pictures don’t do justist so I went looking on the internet then we’ll u tube lol and found things much helpful! But I turned a curve and went on to knitting and been doing that for two years off and on more off then on lol free time is scarce had trouble with this but now at basic knitting but still lots to learn. But for chrocheting I have found that I have trouble with the turning chains tension I love to have the death grip on it and my moods for it oh dose this affect the tension gravely and of corse I just did last night the dc and I like this stitch better I think it’s more easy then the other two but the v form the bumps and back loops and everything else is so confused in my head, but I remembered what one of the books and advice from the most expert knitters said you may feel like your finger are twisted and awkward but move around the needles or in this case hooks and yarns untill you feel comfy and well now since I have read this at the yarn yes I am fringing yes splitting it yes measuring the tail end is never listed for beginner so this is even more hard when you find out you have to measure it chrocheting says 6-8inch alway? But knitting way different, the Corners of my work are all over the place and yet the advice is to change needles or hooks grr how? For a pro this is easy peesy but for me seem like a lot of learning, just saying but time trial and err on you tension is the key and now I know from this artical I have to count rows sts and rounds? Ok more learning to do lol. Makers at the end will try this. Still a bit unsure so will continue to try. And as far as being perfect Sadler my down side defect personality but yes at this stage I guess I will definitely try to just have fun relax. But just thinking about the time it take to practice it’s overwhelming for the beginner lol we want to rush and have a rinsed project fast but with all things new sadly we can’t. I say thank you to all whom posted and given advice it will help me grateley. And the links will come beneficial to me as well. But I say most is being new to this I am so amazed how chrocheters and knitter help and give advice to us with out you we could not do! So thank you again
I just finished a queen-size double crocheted 100% acrylic afghan where I started with the basic chain stitch and then all others were double crochet. I put a single chain stitch border around the entire piece. When I laid it out, the beginning row (chain stitch) was about 6″ shorter than the end row (double crochet). I now know I probably should have used a bigger hook to do my initial chain stitch, but is there a way I can fix this large project. I thought about taking out the entire border and redo the border by putting an extra chain stitch in every other chain on the just the first row to make it longer and then measure to make sure the first and last row are the same length. Will this work, or do you have another suggestion? I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you,
Shaaron
Hi Sharon!
Sorry, I don’t know a way to fix it. You may be able to hide it with the border like you suggested, but I think it still may show. At least you know for next time. Sorry again!
Hi Rachel,
Thank you for replying. I think I’m going to pull out the border yarn, which may be the culprit. I used two strands of yarn double crochet for the entire afghan, but I only used one strand of yarn single crochet for the border. I’m thinking I may have to use two strands of yard while doing the border. Maybe that will work.