Judith L Swartz - Getting Started Crochet

This book is dedicated to the memory of my wonderful parents, Claire and Alexander Swartz, for all they taught me, for always believing in me and encouraging me to follow my passions. Not a day goes by without missing them.

Writing a book is a multifaceted process requiring a team effort. This book would not have been possible without the fabulous team I have been fortunate enough to work with. My gratitude goes out to Ayleen Stellhorn, my editor. Thank you for your patience, kindness, and understanding along with your excellent editing and writing skills. I am also very grateful for the opportunity, once again, to work with Jean Lampe, my technical editor. You are the absolute authority on crochet knowledge, and what you dont know you have the ability to ferret out. Along with your eagle eyes, I must add detective to your list of qualifications. Thank you to Rebecca Campbell, managing editor at Interweave, for your support and understanding of the challenges of writing a book when life pulls you in multiple directions and for all your untiring efforts to keep me on track. Thanks to all of you for not giving up on me.

Special thanks go out to many people at Interweave Press, including Linda Stark for her enthusiasm in this project and her belief in my abilities. Thanks also to Betsy Armstrong and to the entire book production staff for their consistent excellence in creating quality books. It is a pleasure to work with all of you. Thank you to my dear friend Marilyn Murphy, a leader in her field, who continues to inspire me. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to combine work with friendship.

Thanks to Peggy Saewert for her excellent crochet skills. Thank you also to the yarn companies who supplied the materials for these projects. It is always a pleasure to work with fine materials.

Personal thanks are necessary as well. First and foremost to my wonderful husband, Joel Marcus, not only for his love, support, and understanding, but also for giving me the time and space necessary to complete this project. I am, indeed, a very lucky woman. Thanks to my sister, Susan Fish, for her moral support, and to all my wonderful friends whose advice and understanding I appreciate more than you will ever know. Last, I must acknowledge my dear dog and cat, Sandy and Miriam, whose contentedness to just stay near and watch me crochet is a great joy in my life.

Perhaps it was the oh-so-chic woman you passed on the street with the fabulous lacy scarf trailing after her. Maybe it was a colorful blanket you remember curling up in as a child, feeling safe from the world. Or maybe you are feeling the need to de-stress and the idea of doing something constructive with your hands sounds very satisfying.

Maybe youve attempted to crochet in the past only to encounter obstacles, such as overstimulation in the yarn store (leading to confusion instead of inspiration) or a salesperson who spoke in such jargon that you ended up with that I dont even know what I dont know feeling.

For whatever reason, you have the desire to crochet and now you need to know how to go about it. How do you get from inspiration to finished product?

By picking up Getting Started Crochet, you have come to the right place. This is the book to start with. Well go step by step, taking you through all the necessary information. You will learn the language of crochet and then how to abbreviate it. You will learn the basic stitches (there are really only a few) and then how to combine them into infinitely dazzling patterns. You will understand the differences in yarn types and weights and then how to choose the right one to achieve the effect you want. Youll find out all about hooks and then how to choose the right size hook so your creation ends up the correct size.

Crochet is a technique that is relatively easy to learn. Because it is so basic, it offers a great foundation for creativity. The simplicity of many of the projects in this book makes them a perfect canvas for personalization. Use your imagination when adding the finishing touches to individualize the look. Once you master a few projects, you will be on your way to designing your own.

This book offers a variety of projects as each new aspect of the technique is introduced. The projects purposely start out simple and get a little more complex with each following chapter. You can choose to make any or all of them, but if you approach this book like a class (and make a small sampling of the projects) by the time class is over, you will have the knowledge to go on and crochet just about whatever you want.

So go ahead and get started. With a little time and patience, you will be amazed at your results.

A trip to the yarn store can be as overwhelming as it is wonderful. If this is new territory for you, its hard to know where to look first. Dont be intimidated by the dizzying array of colors and textures. Instead, embrace all the fabulous choices.

Plan to shop for yarn when you can take your time, look at everything, and then narrow down your selections and focus on them. Unless you know exactly what you need, never assume that you can just run in and pick up some yarn. It just doesnt work that way. After all, choosing yarn is one of the most exciting parts of project.

The first yarn you will need is one to learn and practice on. Choose a yarn that is

• medium weight, such as DK or worsted (read on for an explanation);
• a light to medium color (its difficult to see your stitches in a dark color); and
• smooth in texture.

Of course, when you are choosing yarn for a particular project, things get somewhat more specific. Yarn is divided into groups by weight. This weight is determined by the thickness of the yarn. Within each of those groups, the texture and content of the yarn can vary widely.

Within the last few years, the yarn industry has developed a system that assigns a number, called a CYCA classification, to each yarn to designate which category it falls into. There are six numbered categories, ranging from super fine to super bulky (see below). A symbol with the designated number appears on many yarn bands (its a new system, so not all yarn companies are using it yet), as well as in published pattern instructions to help you match up appropriate yarns to patterns. This number will be your guideline, but a knowledgeable sales person can help you confirm your choice.

In truth, you can crochet with any material that will go around your hookfrom wire to string to the softest cashmere. Some fibers are easier to work with than others and will provide better results as a crocheted fabric. Smooth textures are the easiest to work with, but you are by no means limited to these. Yarns that are very bumpy are difficult to crochet with, due to the way stitches are formed. You may want to experiment with these yarns after you have a few projects under your belt.