Is it Easy to Crochet?

Is it easy to crochet? A common question that many crocheters are asked and to be honest the answer is most likely to be yes and no. As with knitting, crochet involves a couple of basic stitches arranged in a variety of different patterns to make fabric. 

You will no doubt learn how to do chain stitch, single crochet double crochet and trebles. All of these stitches involve having a loop on your hook, wrapping the yarn around the hook and pulling it through the existing loop to form a stitch. 

So, is it easy to crochet or not?

Most crochet stitches you will ever do will involve wrapping the yarn - sometimes more than once - and pulling that yarn through another loop already on the hook. And once you get the hang of it and develop a little muscle memory, it is easier than it sounds. Personally, I think it is easy to crochet, but like everything worth doing, it takes practice to master crochet.

With single crochet, you insert the hook into a stitch in the previous row before you wrap the yarn around the hook, pull it through to the front, wrap yarn around the hook again and pull it through both loops on the hook. The movement is basically the same for each step - wrap the yarn around the hook and pull it through.

A double crochet is the same except you wrap yarn around the hook first, then insert the hook through the next stitch, wrap again and pull through to the front of the work, wrap for the third time, pull the loop through 2 loops on the hook twice.

The most difficult part of learning how to crochet is learning how to hold your hook and tension the yarn as you work.  Beginners may also experience cramping in their hands, fingers or wrists, and the movements are quite repetitive and you will probably be tense as you work, at least until you are more confident with the hand and finger movements involved in forming stitches.