5 Crochet Hacks Every Beginner Should Know

1. 5 Crochet Hacks for Beginners: Hi. I'm Tony Lipsey with Teal Yang crafts, and I'm super excited to bring you this quick Lesson five Cochet, Hex. Every beginner should know. When I first started crashing in 1999 it was really just a matter of gathering information , learning the basics that everybody does at the very beginning. But over time I had to tweak things, adjust things, so they fit my style, and my projects looked exactly how I wanted them to. So by the end of this less, I'm going to share five of those hacks with you to help your projects was really nice and neat. Picture perfect and ready to sell or gift. So if you're ready, click and roll and let's get started. 2. The Perfect Turning Chain: So for this first video, our very first half, we're going to talk about how to manage your turning change when you're working on a project that's flat like this. I just worked up a quick swatch and to kind of give you an idea of what I'm talking about. When I first learned to Croce, I was sold that especially for something like an American double Cochet you, you're turning change to be three chains high. But what happened is I would come out with these long, really icky looking turning chains that stick out from the sides of my work. I hated that says like, You know what? We've got to do something else. So my hack to get nice straight and even turning James is to actually remove one chain from the recommended amount for your tearing chain. So, for example, for Double Cochet is expected. It's suggested that she used three chains for your turning chain. So I was like, You know what? Let's try to change for your turning chain, and that's how I come up with these nice even ends. So as a quick example, I started this watch and we just get to the end. Okay, so at this point, normally you a chain three and then time. But that's how you end up with these long, wonky letting looking, turning chains. So instead of changing three, we will instead chain, too. And I put a couple stitches in, unless you know what that looks like. Okay, So as you can see, this is our turning chain, and it's nice. And even with the edge of our work, it's not sticking out. Kind of like a buttonhole would. So that is my first hack. Take one chain away from the recommended turning change toe. Have nice even work. 3. Start Your Project Without a Chain: for next, We're going to talk about starting chains. So when you start most projects, it will suggest that you chain some certain amount to make sure that you have a piece that is wide enough for whatever it is you're about to make. What I've always found with chains is that they're too tight. They're hard to work into, and they don't leave a really pretty edge, at least the way that I make them. So I tried something different that I actually saw on YouTube not too long ago. And it's called the foundation single Cochet. You could do a foundation, whatever stitch, half doubles, doubles troubles, whatever you mean. But today I'm going to show the foundation single Cochet. This is a way that you can actually croce your base as well as your first row of stitches at the same time. So the way that you do that is, you'll create a slip knot and put that right on your hook. You're gonna start by chaining to, and then you're gonna pull up a loop in that first chain. You now have two loops on your hook yarn over poof through that first loop on your hook yarn over. Pull through tubes on your hook. You've now created one foundation single Cochet. Let's do a few more. So now you're gonna insert into the loop. That's the base of the first single crochet that you just made. Go in, pull up a loop, young over. Pull through one loop, gone over, Pull through Both groups go into the Lupus at the base of the stitch you just made Pull up a loop, you know, over, pull through one younger or pull through to I make a couple more. Okay, so when you turn it over, what you'll notice is that you have these at the top, just like you would for any other stations you were making. But we were making single Croce, so we'll treat them as such. And you could not work into these V's just like you would work into any other sitch. So let's say we wanted to turn at this point. He chain one just like you would at the beginning of any single Koshiro. You're going to go in just like you're working a normal stitch and we created five. So let's get to the end. See how easy that was so much easier than working into a base chain. This is very, very flexible, very stretchy, but not too much. So it's going to give you a true idea of how much space you're going to have with your turning with your starting chain. So let's say, for example, you are starting a hat or maybe starting the bottom of a sleeve. You're gonna have a much better idea of how big that that swatches from the very beginning . With the beginning chain, your project tends to grow with this. Your project is not gonna grow. Ah, whole lot larger than what you have here. So that is half number two, and that is starting with a foundation single pro shame. 4. Starting Hats Like a Pro: So for our third heck, we're gonna talk about something called the Magic Flute method. The Magic Looper. The magic ring is a way to start projects in the round. If you don't want to, for example, do like a chain for and join it in a circle. When you do that, when you change for joining a circle work, you're probably work your stitches into that. You'll end up with, like, a hole that you either have to sew clothes or just deal with later. And why deal with something you don't have to. So we're going to do the magic loop really quick. It's gonna allow for you to close that hole right up its adjustable if you need it. And it's a pretty foolproof way to start all of your projects in the round. So we're going to wrap the yard overhand bring around our middle finger, and I like to hold my tail right between my ring and pinky fingers. I want to create a little bit of tension, so I'm gonna hold my thumb here. All of our fingers are going to work. Next. We're gonna grab our hook. We're gonna go under the loop that's on our middle finger, come up between our fingers and pull up a loop through our magic loop. Were any ein over and pull through. So that's a chain. The chain is actually what finishes your magic loop. Anything else you do from this point is going to be talked about in the project. So let's say, for example, our project says to put 10 double crashes into a magic loop. So let's start back from the beginning, and we're gonna put 10 double course shades that are Magic loop. Lay it over your hand, round your middle finger, hold, give a little tension group under your middle finger in between your fingers and pull up a loop turnover and chain for a double. Cochet will start with two chains and we're going to put double Pro Shays right into that loop that's around our middle finger. That is our magic ring. So I put a double couple double pro shays in here. First, I'm gonna pull my finger out at this point tight in my loop up just a little bit because I'm a bit clumsy, and then we're gonna put the rest of our double Chris Shays in here. Alrighty. So now, like the project said, we have 10 Double Chris Shays within our magic ring we have are starting to change. Here s so we're gonna go ahead and pull this entail, and this is going to close the loop up. And this is the magic part, folks, because once you put your hook back in, you're going to join to the first double crow Shea of the round with a slip stitch. And it's like there was never a hole in the first place. Pull that nice and tight and look at that. That's so that is the top of your project you can't even see through here. You can attach a pom pom to it, or if you're doing like the foot on a cruciate animal, you won't even be able to see or or let any of the filling come out. These are nice, tight stitches. You can pull that ring as close as you need to so it into the bottom real tight, and that will never come out. So that is a magic with method half number three and the absolute best way to start any project done in around 5. Add New Yarn Without Adding New Yarn Ends: So for hat number four, I'm going to tell you my absolute favorite way to add a new ball of yarn. Typically, that'll be because whatever you're working on, you're all done with your yarn. You've got your tail, but you need to continue working. Of course, you would be adding the same color yarn. Same type of yarn, preferably the same dialogue, if you can find it. But I'm going Teoh talk to you about my favorite way to add that new ball of yarn. Um, when I first started crashing, I would literally just not them together. You ended up with an awful not often times, but not would end up falling out at the super duper upset. And I'd have to do, ah lot of repairing that I didn't want to do. But what I'm gonna do now is I'm going Teoh do something called the Russian. Join on. This is what I found is the most secure. Not that you can make Inc rochet. It's the tiniest not, and you don't have to worry about it falling out, and it works really nicely into your work. So, like I mentioned, typically you're going to be working with the same color. I'm gonna use two different colors just to kind of give you an idea of what we're doing here. So you'll start with your yard like this. One color on top of the other. You're gonna grab your top yard, put it under and make a not okay, and then you're gonna take your bottom yarn, put it under. They make a not and now which you could actually do, is grab you two separate yarns pool. And those two knots are gonna basically kiss. So in a way, you have two knots, but it feels a lot like one, and it's also very small. Since these knots are nice and secure, you can actually cut your young right at the base of the not to get rid of your excess. Get that out of the way and continue with your project. And when you work your project, you'll barely be able to feel that not, and you're barely be able to see it if you're working with the same color than not ends up right here. And obviously it's basically gone. So that is my favorite way Toe Agnew Balls of yarn. It's called the Russian Joint and that attack number four 6. Keep Your WIPs Happy: for the fifth and final project, we're going to talk about project amazement. If you're anything like me, you'll be working on a project that looking gorgeous. But you want to take a little break from it because you shiny things. I'm gonna work on something else for a while. So you slip your hook out, you put it in the bottom of your closet, come back to it and you have no idea what hookey use. What a bummer. So we're going to create something that I like to call stitch holders to make sure that when you have your works in progress that sit in the bottom of your closet for a while, you can always get back to them without having to play the guessing game of what size cookie used. So what I like to use for these are just normal lobster class that you confined at your jewelry store or at a hobby store. You also need a few split rings and some cute little charms with letters that denote what size hook you might have used. Um, I got these from Hobby Lobby. You get a whole set of different letters and then you just have to fish out the ones that correspond to your crow. She hooks. So to make those due to do, you're going to grab one of your split rings and open it up. You're lots of class. Should have come with these little divider pieces. So put that on there as well as our charm and close that up. Next, we're gonna open up are other split ring. We're gonna put our divider on there as well as our lobster class and close that up tight. And that's it, folks. That is the easiest way to create a little charm that you can put on your project to keep an eye on what size hook he used. So what I like to do, I pull up that working loop, and I hooked the class right on there. That'll stay tight. It'll also keep your working loop from falling out. And now you can get back to your project whenever you're ready. 7. Welcome to the Club!: and that's it, folks. If you watch all of the videos, you're officially a crow. Shea insider. You now know the tips and tricks that I use on a daily basis to make my projects picture perfect. Now you can incorporate those into more complicated projects, including color work, garment making, even pattern design of your very own. And let me see those projects head down to the project gallery upload, maybe something you've been working on. Incorporate a few of these tips and tricks and let me see what it looks like afterwards. Also, make sure you're following me here on skill share so you can keep up with my upcoming videos and you can check me out on Facebook and Instagram to see what else is going on. You can find me at teal yarn craft. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today and I will see you next time