14-Day Learn to Crochet—Gauge and Getting Started

Hi, welcome back to the 14 Day Learn to Crochet series. In this video, we're going to be talking first about gauge, getting gauge, and how to deal with it if you don't get the correct gauge, and then next we're going to start actually crocheting. We're going to create a foundation chain. So first let's start by talking about gauge. What is gauge? Now, as I mentioned before when I talked about terminology, and we were talking about patterns, they will list something called gauge. And what that means is how many stitches per inch, or how many stitches per four inches, the designer, after they have made their sweater or hat or whatever it is, they will tell you how many stitches per inch using the type of yarn that they specify. And that's how you know how tightly or how loosely they're crocheting. First also, let me say, if you're looking at a UK pattern with UK terminology, they will call, instead of calling it gauge, they will call it tension. So tension and gauge, they're the same thing. But for the purposes of this video, we're just gonna call it gauge. So they will tell you in the pattern, how many stitches per four inches is usually what they do. And so what you're going to do when you're working on a pattern is you're going to crochet up a swatch, so that's just a little square, and then you're going to compare, you're going to count your stitches, and then you're going to count your rows. So for example, I made this little dish cloth, and you would lay your ruler on here. And once we start working on the actual stitch patterns this will look a little more clear to you, like how to count the stitches, because now it probably just looks like a whole bunch of little lines, and where's the stitch? I don't know! But that's okay. You don't need to know that yet, I'll show you. But when you're checking your gauge, you're going to count your stitches across, like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, blah, blah, blah, 16 stitches in that direction. And then you're also going to count. You're going to turn your ruler this way, And you're going to count how many rows are in four inches or whatever they specify. So it's important to get both of these to be the right size, to match what they're saying in the pattern, especially if it's something that's gonna fit a person, like a sweater or a hat or something like that. Because if you don't get the correct gauge, then what happens is you're gonna make something that's either way too small or way too big. Because when you do a little gauge swatch like this, this is going to magnify the problem, if it's off by a couple of stitches, maybe like two or three stitches, by the time you make a sweater, you know that's fairly wide, that's going to be off by like 12 stitches or maybe way more than that. And so it's not going to fit you how you wanted it to. So it is important to actually check your gauge. Sometimes people do not like to check gauge. They just want to plunge into their project. And I get it. I'm one of those people. I understand, but for bigger projects I urge you to check your gauge, especially for a sweater. If you can't even make yourself do that, then you need to check your gauge as you go. So after you've worked a few rows of something, then go back into your fabric and check the gauge, and make sure that you're spot on. Because otherwise, if you're not, you're going to have to rip out a lot, or you're going to have to wear a very loose sweater. So, these samples were crocheted with three different size hooks. This was crocheted with, let's see, an F hook, which is smaller. This was crocheted with an H hook, which is two sizes larger than the F. And this was crocheted with a J hook. So we have F, H, and J. And so you can see what's happening here, when you take a look at these pieces, it's getting bigger as you go up. And that's because I used a bigger hook. So if you check your gauge, and your swatch is not big enough, if you make your swatch, and it's supposed to measure four inches by four inches, but your swatch measures three inches by three inches, then try and go try going up a hook size or two, because we all crochet differently. Everybody has their own style of crocheting. So what somebody says, you know, their gauge, with the exact same hook and the exact same yarn, it might not match your gauge, because everybody holds things a little bit differently. You pull on the yarn a little bit differently. And so that's why checking your gauge is important, even if you're using the same hook, and the same yarn that the designer specifies. So what happens if you make your gauge swatch and it is way too big? If it's too big, you just go down a couple of hook sizes or one hook size, and check it and see. So once you match the correct gauge, then you can move on and start working on your pattern. So let's talk about beginning. How do you begin crocheting? Crochet normally starts with a foundation chain. Foundation chain, that just means like a bunch of loops that you're going to work your stitches into. Okay, so I'm going to be using a CYCA yarn, number five. This is a chunky weight yarn. And I'm going to be using this L sized hook. But for you, you may have a different thickness of yarn. And so you'd have a different size hook to go along with that. That is totally fine. And you may find that, as somebody who's starting out, you crochet very tightly. Generally, that's how it is. When you're learning something new, you're kind of tensed up. Your shoulders are like this, and maybe you're frowning a little bit, but you're secretly enjoying it, but you need to go up a hook size maybe, to get your chain to be loose enough so you can work into it on the next row. It's important that your chain is not super tight, because if it is, you're going to have, you're going to be even more hunched up on the next role because it'll get harder. So if you can, take a deep breath while you're learning this and try to think about making your movements in kind of a looser, more relaxed way. I know that is totally easier said than done, but, you know, just try that. If that's not working, then for making a crochet chain, a lot of times I will recommend that people start out with a slightly larger hook, and then after you do the chaining, and you work your stitches, you can go down a hook size. So for me, I'm starting out with an L, and a chunky number five yarn. So to begin your foundation chain, you're going to make a slip knot. So you will wrap the yarn like this, and you'll want to leave a small amount of yarn here. Like, I don't know, maybe six or seven inches. You can just eyeball it, maybe the length of your crochet hook, something like that, because if you don't have this, you won't be able to weave in your end. If you just have a short little stubby end of yarn, then even if you do even your end, it'll probably work its way out. And we don't want that. So, once again, you're gonna take your yarn, you're basically just drawing a circle with your yarn, and then the side of your yarn that's connected to the ball, we're going to flip this circle over onto the end of your yarn that's connected to the ball. So we take this, and we just flip it over like that. And then this little strand that's in the middle of your circle that you made, that's where your hook is gonna go. So you're gonna put your hook underneath that. We'll just pick that up, put your hook underneath that. And then you can use your other hand to just sort of gently pull on these two until it makes a knot. Now that is a humongous hole, right? So this is called a slip knot for a reason, you could just pull on the yarn that's attached to the ball until it slides up next to the hook. So you want this to be loose enough that you should be able to drag it back and forth like this without too much effort. If it's too tight like this, you're gonna have a harder time working your chain. And you're going to have a harder time working into your chain on the next row. So have it just so you can slip it back and forth. You don't want to see a big hole there next to it. It should be pretty snug, like touching your hook but be able to move. All right. And so, holding your hook. Now, there are numerous ways to hold a hook, but the two most popular ways to hold a hook, you can hold it like this. This is how I crochet. This is called a knife grip. Like you were going to cut up your Salisbury steak. Here we go. Or you can hold it like this. This is called a pencil grip. So when you crochet, you can hold it in either of those two ways, or there are other ways to hold it, but these are the two most popular. And so I would try it, whichever way seems to make the most sense right off the bat. Just try it like that for a little while. And if it's not working, switch to the other method, or find a new method. You just need to find something that's comfortable for you, that's not gonna hurt your wrist or, or it be too awkward. All right, so I'm going to hold it this way, because this is the way that I normally crochet. And when you're making your crochet chain, you're just gonna take the yarn, and right now, the knot is on the side of the hook that's facing me. I think about that as being the bottom of the hook. So the hook is, this part is facing me. The knot is on the bottom, and I'm kind of holding it with my thumb here. Then you're going to take the strand of yarn, and you're going to wrap it from the bottom over the top like that, from the back, up, and over. And then I like to hold my yarn like this, to be able to let it run through my fingers, but to be able to have some tension on it, so you can pull on it. There are lots of different ways to hold your yarn. Some people do wrap it around with their pinky, and do all kinds of different things. But for me, I just go over under, over, just like that, and then I can hold my fingers together to hold on onto my yarn. So I'm going to use that to wrap the yarn from the back up over the top like that. And then I'm going to pinch that little knot with my thumb, and I'm going to pull my hook through this loop. And when I do that, watch what happens with the hook. I twist it down a little bit, boop, and then it'll fit. And what I'm doing is I'm pulling on my hook in this direction to make this loop stretch out just a little bit. I'm putting a little tension on this loop, so that I can get the hook to go through it, like that. Pulling it through. Okay, so we're gonna wrap it around, around the back and down from down across the front. And then I'm going to pull this through. And I twist my hook just a little, so that the tip of my hook goes right where the bottom of this loop is. So I just twist it towards me like this. Chain, like that, wrap it around, pulling it through. Okay, and then every once in a while you may need to adjust the yarn in your hand. It'll get easier. I know this is, probably the foundation chain and the first row of stitches is the most awkward you're going to feel while you're crocheting, but you can do this, it just takes practice. So you wrap it around. And then you're going to use that hook, turn it a little bit, and pull it through. The reason I turn it, is just so that it doesn't get stuck. If I would just pull like this, see how that loop gets stuck underneath my hook? Ahh! So that's why I turn it. If that doesn't work for you, whatever way you need to hold your hook, and to move it through the yarn, that is totally fine. Don't let anyone tell you you're doing it wrong. If it's working for you, then it's working. So yarn over, twist, pull it through. Yarn over, twist, pull it through, just like that. And you can make this as long as you need it to be. This is going to be the beginning of, for us, it's just a swatch. So I'll probably make it about that long. But if you bought the dish cloth cotton, I would say to chain about 16 chains, somewhere around there, 16 or 20, if you like a bigger dish cloth, then you can start making your swatch. In the next video, we'll go over that. But just for right now, I would say chain a whole bunch. And you can always unravel it, because this is how you practice. So keep making chains, and then if you want to unravel it, you just gently pull on it. See how they just come apart? And then you can put your hook back in. So one more thing about this foundation chain is if you take a look at the chain, one side of it will be a bunch of little V shapes all stacked up. And then if you flip it over, this side has a bunch of little dashes. So the side that you're normally told to crochet into is the side with the V's. This is called the top of the crochet chain. And if you flip it over, this is called the bottom of the crochet or foundation chain. So I just wanted to make sure that you understand the difference between the top, which is the V's, and the bottom, which is the dashes. Okay, and now that you know how to do the foundation chain we are ready to move on to actually making a stitch pattern. We're going to be working in single crochet in the next video. So please join me.