If you are new to crocheting, one of the toughest things to master is making consistent stitches in your work. If you’ve ever tried making a square and it ended up not so square, then you know what I’m talking about!

Here are some crocheting tips to establish consistent crochet work:

1. Count, count, count! It is really important to count the stitches in a row or round so that you know you aren’t adding or missing stitches by accident. You can also use stitch markers to help you count.

2. Slide loops back. When you put “loops” on your hook, be sure to slide them back to the part of the hook that is leveled. The edge where the hook is, is normally skinnier than the rest of the hook. Pushing the loops back to the leveled part of the hook will ensure that all the stitches you make will consistently be the same size and have the same tension.

3. Not too tight or loose. Make sure that the loops on you hook aren’t too tight or too loose. It should be loose enough so that it is easy for you to slip your hook in and out of loops. It should be tight enough such that the loops are securely wrapped around the leveled surface of the hook.

4. Know how long to make your turning chain. As a rule of thumb you make 1 chain for single crochets, 2 for half double crochet, 3 for double crochet, and so on. This will ensure that the beginning of your new row/round will be the same height as the rest of the row/round.

5. Use different hook sizes. Sometimes you may find that your foundation chain is much tighter than the rest of your work. Try using a larger sized hook for the foundation chain or for the adventurous try the foundation single crochet (can be altered for other crochet stitches too).

6. Practice. Practice makes perfect, as the old saying goes. Sometimes the best way to learn is from doing, no matter how long you end up doing it for.

7. Crocheting should be relaxing and fun. No brute force needed. If you notice you’re pushing and pulling your hook with a lot of strength, then there’s probably something wrong.

Do you have a crochet tip to add?

Yummy yummy ice cream! Alright, don’t eat this ice cream cone, it won’t taste very well. But you can use it as a cool applique or fridgie (refrigerator magnet). The ice cream cone works up really fast using only a little bit of yarn, so scraps are perfect. Plus, no sewing is required. Have fun with this summer inspired crochet pattern!! Skill Level: Finished Size: 5 1/4″ (13.5 cm) tall, 2 1/2″ (6.5 cm) wide Materials: Medium Weight Yarn (small amount of each color) Crochet Hook H (5.00 mm)

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Need goldfish? Here is a tiny little fishy to sew onto any item that you can think of. Use it to decorate clothing or bags. Or use it as a cute fridgie (refrigerator magnet) or pin. You can even embroider a face if you desire. Have fun crocheting a school of little goldfish!

Skill Level:

Finished Size: 2″ (5 cm) long, 1″ (2.5 cm) tall
Note: to adjust the size of the goldfish, use a larger or small hook and different weight of yarn

Materials: Medium Weight Yarn (small amount) Crochet Hook H (5.00 mm)

Crochet Pattern: Goldfish
Round 1: ch 7, sc in second ch from hook, hdc in next ch, dc in next 2 ch, hdc in next ch, sc in last ch, working into opposite side of chain into remaining loops, sc in next ch, hdc in next ch, dc in next 2 ch, hdc in next ch, sc in last ch, sl st in first sc made joining to beginning of round
Round 2: ch 3, turn, 2 dc in next st, finish off.

Using photo as a guide, embroider face to goldfish.

If you need help crocheting this goldfish applique, let me know and I’ll be glad to help!

What better way to practice a new stitch than to make a scarf with it? The Tunisian knit stitch tutorial will show you the steps to make your crochet look like knitting! Once you get the hang of it, come back here and start on a new scarf. Skill Level:

Finished Size: as long and wide as you desire

Materials: Medium Weight Yarn (approximately 250 yards) Crochet Hook N (10.00 mm)

Gauge: is not that important. The scarf created in the photo uses a large hook so that it is easier for beginners to see the stitches. It also minimizes curl.

Special Stitches Used: Tunisian Knit Stitch (tks)

Crochet Pattern: Scarf
Start by chaining 12 or as wide as you want your scarf
Row 1: tks in second ch from hook and in each ch across
Row 2: tks in second st from hook and in each st across

Repeat row 2 until scarf is as long as you desire.

If need help with crocheting your Tunisian knit stitch scarf, let me know!

I joined Ravelry a few months ago just to see what all the hoot and holla is all about. I was told it was an awesome site for knitters and crocheters. But till this day, I still don’t know what’s so great about it. It feels like I’m missing something.

I noticed that there’s neat features to electronically organize your stash, hooks and the projects you’re working on. My only problems is that I don’t have the patience to enter in all the info and keep up with it. But if you do it, then kudos to you!

My username there is “crochetspot” so feel free to add me as a friend. Also, let me know what you think of Ravelry!

I added a new feature for when you comment on post! It allows you to receive e-mail notifications when someone else leaves comments on the post. It’s totally optional and the good thing about it is that if you’re really interested in knowing what other people write, you’ll be notified when someone else leaves a comment. Or if you happen to leave a question for me and then I go and answer your question, you can be notified that I did.

If you would like to receive these comment updates for a particular post all you have to do is click the box at the end of the post that says “Notify me of followup comments via e-mail”. The box is right underneath the “Submit comment” button.

Again, it’s absolutely optional. I just think it’ll be a great way to keep up with conversations and I noticed that lots of other blogs had this feature too!

Let me know what you think!

Have you ever wanted your crochet to look like knitting? Well here is the stitch for you! The Tunisian knit stitch is really similar to the Tunisian Simple Stitch also known as the afghan stitch. Please check that tutorial first before attempting this one since I’ll be making lots of references to it. The only difference between the Tunisian simple stitch and the Tunisian knit stitch is the location you insert your hook during the forward pass/row.

This tutorial is for both right and left handed people. For left handed pictures, roll your mouse over the image and it will change for you.
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This weekend I took a break from crocheting to adventure into cutting my own hair. I’ve never cut my own hair before or anyone else’s until now. Okay, maybe I did cut my doll’s hair when I was a kid, but I don’t think that counts (it turned out really bad).

Good thing for youtube, that wonderful site with all those videos! I saw one with this girl cutting her own hair and it actually looked pretty nice. Oh, there are lots of good crochet videos on youtube too!

My hair was long to begin with so there was lots of room for error. I only snipped off a couple of inches, just to get rid of those horrible split ends. The hair is still long enough to run down my back and maybe next week I’ll work up the nerve to cut some more, a little shorter would be better. I didn’t want to get too scissor happy on my first attempt and end up looking like a ball of fun fur yarn.

Sorry I don’t have a picture, I was way too excited to take one.