My crochet journey has begun! I have been knitting for quite a while now, but the crochet bug bit me over lockdown. I don’t know why, because knitting is such a wonderful therapeutic hobby it seemed rude to stop doing it; but somehow I just couldn’t find any inspiration. Crochet offered a simpler option and to be honest the lockdown was probably giving me mental health issues. Let’s not be too bleak here though, this is meant to be uplifting and inspirational!
Starting off…
I started with easy stuff that doesn’t need a pattern. Just nice flat pieces that can be quickly rattled off in an afternoon. A snood for my Mum’s birthday (which I have never seen her wearing), and a headband for me (which I only wear on duvet days or work from home days). Then came the blankets…I have made blanket after blanket after blanket, and enjoyed every stitch.
Blanket basics 
The first crochet blanket I made is a huge granny square blanket that used up lots of wool scraps and I highly recommend this method. I looked up some tutorials on good old YouTube and made a few squares, then a few became a lot and I ended up with enough to cover a single bed. I looked up some more tutorials that showed how to join the squares together and another for a border. I have it on my bedroom chair now and it’s a mad hotch potch of colour but I really like it.
Blocking
I didn’t know you had to block a project at that point and it’s a shame because my poor blanket looks a bit puckered in places, and I have since discovered that blocking the individual squares before joining them together would have been the ideal time to do it.
Since then I find that blocking is a great way to finish a project and really gives it an extra professional look. I won’t go into the details of blocking here, but if (like me), you didn’t know how to block, I found a great article about it on a website called Knitting with Chopsticks. Here’s a direct link … Blocking for Knitting and Crochet: Everything you Need to Know (knittingwithchopsticks.com) . This website is run by a lady who provides free patterns, so take a look around her site while you are there. She even has a newsletter too that sends out regular free patterns, so she provides great value.
Easy baby jumper
After completing about six blankets I decided to challenge myself and crochet a baby jumper. I needed something really easy, and found this wonderful video on YouTube.
Here’s the link… HOW to CROCHET an EASY BABY SWEATER Tutorial – YouTube or watch it below, and do take a look at the other videos made by Naztazia, she has lots of great ideas for crafters who are new to crochet.
I find video tutorials much easier to follow than actual crochet patterns, so I highly recommend this method if you are starting out in crochet or thinking of trying it.
I was so pleased with the finished jumper and as you can see from the photo it looks so cute on a real baby. By the way this is not my baby, she belongs to my neighbours and she is absolutely gorgeous. I used one of her jumpers as a template and made mine in roughly the same size. I added buttons on the shoulder and a scolloped edge on the bottom, but this pattern can be adapted in lots of different ways. The video shows a heart on the front which is really cute, but if you are making one for a baby boy you could add a little sail boat motif, or some felt applique, or coloured pom poms! I love a pom pom! Let your imagination run wild!
Wishing you lots of happy crochet hours
Lulu x