Course description

Always wanted to make your own blankets, hats and gifts? This course teaches you to crochet from scratch, step by step, from holding the hook and making your first chain to finishing a granny stripe baby blanket.

It's a full course, not a few quick tips. There are 10 sections and 50 step-by-step written lessons, each with clear numbered steps and a practical task. Every section has a practice pack of printable stitch diagrams, charts, patterns and step cards. Throughout the course you follow a pharmacy dispenser from Halifax as she learns to crochet with the help of a local crochet group, mistakes and pulled-back rows included.

What you'll learn

• The basics: hooks, yarn weights and fibres, reading a ball band, and holding the hook and yarn (right- or left-handed).
• The core stitches: chain, slip stitch, double crochet, half treble, treble and double treble, with turning chains and stitch counting.
• Patterns: abbreviations, UK and US terms, written patterns, symbol charts and tension squares.
• Shaping and texture: increases, decreases, ribbing, moss stitch, shells and clusters.
• Working in the round: magic rings, flat circles, hats and granny squares.
• Finishing: fixing mistakes, weaving in ends, seams, borders, blocking and care.
• Making things: a dishcloth, a striped scarf, an ear warmer, a hat, a cushion cover and a small toy.

The final project

You'll plan and make a granny stripe baby blanket from start to finish, with a neat border and every end woven in safely.

Who this course is for

• Complete beginners who have never held a crochet hook.
• Anyone who tried once and got lost in the patterns.
• Left-handed learners looking for clear guidance.
• People who want to make gifts, homewares and things for babies.

How the course works

Read each lesson, follow the steps with the printable diagrams and patterns from the practice pack, then do the Try it task. All you need to start is a 4 mm hook, a ball of smooth DK yarn, scissors and a yarn needle. You keep lifetime access, so you can come back whenever you need a reminder.

What will i learn?

• Hold the hook and yarn comfortably, right- or left-handed, and make an even chain
• Work double crochet, half treble, treble and double treble, and count your stitches
• Read written patterns and symbol charts in UK and US terms
• Make a tension square and choose the right hook and yarn
• Shape crochet with increases and decreases and add ribbing and texture
• Work in the round to make flat circles, hats and granny squares
• Fix mistakes, weave in ends, add borders and block your work
• Make safe toys and a baby blanket from start to finish

Frequently asked question