Why is Crocheting So Hard for Me?

Why is it that some people seem to pick up crocheting so easily and yet others, possibly you reading this, find it so hard?

That’s a good question! And one that has many different answers based on the person trying to learn. I will answer it as best I can based on what I have observed from the hundreds of crocheters that I have mentored. Some have come to me having never picked up a hook and others have tried many times to try to learn to crochet, or are crocheting but struggling to progress.

It’s all in your head!

If you think it’s hard, then it will be hard. It might not be quite as simple as that, but often with learning to crochet (or learning anything really) we hold ourselves back from the very beginning because we have stories in our head about how hard it is going to be. I know I held myself back from even starting to learn because just watching my Granny’s hook fly with the yarn making blankets I thought that there was no way I could make it work. When I did start to learn though I just took it one lesson at a time and got to where I am now. So if this is you. If you’re thinking it looks too hard, then I encourage you to reframe that thought. Almost everything is hard when we first start out because we’re learning something new. Let’s not make it harder by telling ourselves that it is hard.

You’re trying to learn too much at once.

I get it. You’ve fallen in love with a crochet project that you’ve seen on pinterest or you’ve seen someone else make and you just HAVE to make it. If you’re an experienced crocheter you probably can pick up your hook and make it. But if you’ve never picked up a hook before or if you’re not yet comfortable holding the hook and yarn, then you’re bound to struggle. Before you start making a project, you need to develop the skills that are needed to make it. We’re not just handed the keys to the car when we turn 17 and allowed to just start driving on the road. We have to take lessons and gain experience first. It’s the same with crochet. So if you’re finding it hard, take a step back and consider what you do and don’t know already. What are you comfortable doing so far in crochet? Can you hold the hook and yarn and make a chain with ease? Is there a stitch that is doing your head in because you just can’t get it right? Or maybe you can make the stitches but your tension is just all over the place. Get curious and try and figure out where your current weak point is. Once you know, or have an idea of what it might be, then spend some time developing that skill set. You might pick it up quickly or you might need days or weeks. There is nothing wrong with that. I encourage you to take the time you need to develop that skill as it will make the next step much easier.

You’re comparing yourself to others.

If you’re watching someone else crochet and getting frustrated because you can’t crochet as fast or as easily as them, then STOP IT! Comparison can be great if you’re getting inspiration from it, but if it’s causing you to get inside your own head and talk negatively about your own skill set, then it is going to make it all harder for you. There isn’t much you can do to combat this, other than to recognise the dialogue that is going on in your head, acknowledge it and move on. So next time you find yourself thinking negative thoughts about your ability – stop, tell yourself that you acknowledge this thought but it is not helpful to you. Find something that you can complement yourself on instead and continue on with learning.

You’re stressing yourself out!

I have seen this a lot. Especially with brand new crochet beginners or with someone learning a new stitch or technique. They start strangling their hook. Get super frustrated with what they’re doing and try even harder to make it work. If this is you then again I urge you to stop. Stop. Take a breath. Take another breath. Assess what is frustrating you and ask for help if you need it. The more stressed you are, the more frustrated you feel, the less easily it is going to come to you. Take as many breaths as you need. And if you don’t have someone close that can help you, search online, find a local meetup group or class that you can attend. If there is nothing near you then I have a free facebook group that you can ask for help in.

It might not be you.

Sometimes it has nothing to with you and has more to do with who is teaching you or how you’re being taught. Everyone has a different learning style and everyone learns differently in different environments. I learn best from written instructions and then giving it a go. Occassionally I need to refer to a video to figure it out if the instructions are not making sense. You might be the same. Maybe you find it easier to learn from a video or from someone helping you in person. Or maybe you need pictures. It’s also entirely possible that you don’t have all the information that you need. Maybe the person teaching you is leaving bits out as they assume you already know it. And it might be a case of you don’t know what you don’t know.

These are the most common reasons that I find are resulting in people finding crochet hard. Which one is resonating most with you right now?

If you’re seeking help to get you through then I am here for you too! I have many different ways that I can help. Whether it’s joining my free facebook group and asking for help when you need it or checking out my You Tube channel for the video tutorial you need. My Square a Day Challenge is an awesome way to try new things in a supportive community and if you’re after dedicated support from a Crochet Mentor and love to continuously learn new things, then you really want to check out my Free Masterclass which is coming up for one weekend only on the 07th and 08th October. And let’s not forget the Hooked on Crochet Club.

Seona x

106 thoughts on “Why is Crocheting So Hard for Me?”

  1. I have been trying to crochet for 2 weeks. 2! I am doing the slip knot right, but then, when it comes to the chain stitch, I completely fail. First, I make sure the knot is loose enough to slide around on my hook but not fall off. Then, I loop the yarn behind the hook and bring it forwards, then turn it down, but instead, the loop just tightens or I am only left with that one loop, not even two or a chain! I’ve watched, like, 30 crochet tutorials and all of them give the same steps. Valuable information about what I am doing wrong or a slow step-by-step detailed tutorial would be greatly appreciated and helpful.

    If you have a video or an article to help me, please send the link.

    Thanks,
    – Charlotte N.

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      1. Thank you so much! I will try this. Hopefully I can create a scarf because I want to do some Amigurumi patterns before Christmas that I can send to my friends. I want to make a penguin, corgi, and axolotl.

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  2. Hi, I don’t learn from articles as well as videos because I need to pause what I am doing to scroll down to the next page to get the instructions. Do you, by any chance, have any videos? Videos would be more helpful.

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  3. Hi, my name is Amber. I am new to crocheting. I cannot do the chain stitch crochet. Please help. A video/article would be helpful 😁

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  4. Yes, please please PLEASE send a video of how you did the crochet stitch! I’ve been having trouble for 4 days trying to do the chain stitch and OMG it is so hard!

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  5. Charlotte, if you do end up learning how to crochet, PLEEEEASE tell me. I also want to make my plushies gifts for my friends. I am trying to make a dinosaur & a bee!

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  6. Please send a tutorial on how to do the crochet chain stitch ASAP! (by the way, I do not learn as well with articles because I think someone telling me what to do and actually doing it in a video is more helpful) 😼

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    1. That is why I included links to my you tube channel. Everyone has a different learning style & reading is just one of them. Some learn by seeing, some learn by doing, some learn by reading and some need a combination. I cover them all across my different products.

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  8. I tried that a hundred times, all it did was just tighten my loop. I would like a tutorial on how to do a crochet stitch please

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  9. I’m actually not an expert, I just started trying to crochet my own patterns 2 months ago. It has been a really fun experience. I do not have a Youtube channel so I cannot make an account, plus, I don’t want to expose my voice to others. Did you try the article that the creator of this website suggested earlier?

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  11. Oh, sorry, I can’t help you then. Although crocheting is hard in the beginning, it will get easier as you read the patterns.

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  13. By the way, the article didn’t really help me. The slip knot for me is fine, it’s just the chain stitch. Send a video link please on how to do the chain stitch!!

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  14. It’s 6 in the morning so I don’t think Seona is going to respond. I’m sure she’s going to see your messages asking her to send a video trying to do the chain stitch

    Liked by 1 person

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  15. Yes, but I need to get the crocheting done ASAP!!! 6 days left until Christmas and by the way, it’s not 6 in the morning for me which is why I am here.

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  16. I must get crocheting done and the thing that’s holding me back is that CHAIN STITCH!!!! I need a video please.

    Send a video link for how to do the crochet stitch asap!

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  17. Why does my loop on my hook just tighten instead of leaving me with crochet stitches? I also need a detailed tutorial on how to do basic stitches for Amigurumi.

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  19. Knots, knots… And more knots!! Is crochet stitching really that hard?! Ugh, I need a video. And maybe a bottle of soda because I’m thirsty from all of this knot making which is supposed to be crocheting a scarf…

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  22. Hi, I am not the creator, but it seems like most of you are having trouble doing basic crochet stitching. So I went online and I found a video, and it’s not my video. Most of you work best with videos instead of articles, so I found a video that you guys could use.

    Liked by 1 person

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  23. Ta-da! My Christmas present to you all.

    SCROLL DOWN
    |
    |
    V

    Just a little more…

    Not that long from the present!

    Almost there…

    Here you go! This is your Christmas present for all of you wondering how to crochet. Merry Christmas!

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  26. OMG THAT VIDEO SAVED ME A TON OF TIME. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! NOW I NO LONGER HAVE TO RELY ON THIS ARTICLE OMGGGGG THANK YOU SO MUCH BELLA COCO

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    1. Are you kidding, the owner of this website didnt even respond. Some guardian angel named Maddie took her own precious time to find us a video and the owner didn’t even answer us! at least I found out how to do a crochet stitch without that useless article

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      2. And actually, i did respond to you on your first comment on the same day you commented. I have not had time to come back here until now. I’m glad you got the help you needed.

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    2. Harsh. I’m sorry it didnt have what you needed. If you need something more specific please feel free to join my facebook group where I can help more directly and specifically.

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  29. don’t comment on here because creator won’t answer us. btw, the magic ring is easy! all you have to do is a double crochet stitch and insert your hook in the second crochet stitch, then just crochet like so until you get your magic ring.

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  33. guys, this person is really trying hard to make everyone happy. you will get the hang of crocheting when you learn all techniques, dont get mad at this person because crocheting is difficult.

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  34. also, i sent that article to my 12 year old younger sister who wants to learn how to crochet, and she said “i really want to crochet those cute little dinos i saw on youtube”. she absolutely loved your tutorial, and i didn’t have time to teach her myself because these past few weeks i’ve been caught up with loads of homework each day.

    also, please stop hating and calling this person’s stuff useless, they explained that their notifications didn’t appear when people commented and that they listed videos and articles on the same problem you guys have.

    thx 🙂

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  35. It’s like God sent this article to me, helped me so much! I was struggling and didn’t even know how to make a chain stitch, but now I’m making elephants and ducks like a pro 😎

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  36. thank you so much ❤️ I love your article. I was making so many mistakes as a beginner, and your article helped me understand what I was doing wrong!! Love from CA, happy Valentines day!

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    1. There are a couple of things to look at .
      1) make sure the you’re using the right size hook for the yarn. There are guidelines on most yarn labels
      2) make sure that you’re maintaining tension on the yarn between your hook hand and yarn hand. If it is too loose/slack, the hook can’t grab the yarn properly.

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  42. Hi!! My name is Eleanor. I’m 13, and so far I’ve created some mittens for my lil 3 y.o sis. Now, I want to crochet an animal. I keep hearing “half double crochets” in tutorials on the magic circle. What is this, and how do I do it??

    Your friend,

    Eleanor

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  44. Hi. In having trouble on my giant bee crochet. The white stomach keeps ending up being a round circle instead of an oval!!! So frustrating. I want to giveup, but I dunno if I should since I bought a beginner kit. Got any tutorials

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    1. Stitch markers? Can be used for a number of things. I mostly use them for when I put my work down for the day – you can put a stitch marker in where your hook is to stop the work unravelling. You can also use them to highlight different parts of your work – for example I use them on the point of a shawl so that I don’t lose my place. You can also use them to mark repeats in a pattern so that you don’t need to count so much.

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  47. I dont wanna buy safety eyes for my pieces…. I have plenty of black yarn, so I just wanna hand-crochet them there instead of using safety eyes

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  50. Trying to create a cute coaster/granny square for my cups. Turning out horribly. I don’t wanna make the magic loop, I want to make a *FLAT* circle or a granny square! Don’t know why it always has to curve and not make the desired flat circle. Pls help, very challenging.

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    1. If you don’t want to make the magic circle then you can chain 4 and slip stitch into the 1st chain to create a ring. If your square is curving up then this is likely due to tension being too tight or there not being enough stitches in each round.

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