How many times have I heard you say, ‘I need help reading crochet patterns?!’ I’ll admit, they can be a tricky little beast at times, especially when some are written in US terms and you haven’t realised until half way through your new hat. Not to mention all those abbreviations and strange symbols jumping about all over the place. Fear not fellow crocheters, I’m here to reveal another crochet secret all to do with reading crochet patterns!
First and foremost, there is A LOT of information in some crochet patterns but you don’t need to read everything at once. You don’t even have to understand everything at once. Focus on the very start of the pattern and break it down into smaller chunks. Do the first thing first and try not to worry about the next part until it’s time to do that part. When you’ve mastered the first part of the pattern, tick it off or highlight it to show it’s completed. I know that some of you use sticky notes to remind yourselves of where you are in a pattern, or a paperclip that you can slide down the edge of the page also works well!
What about when you get to the middle of the pattern and are completely stuck?! You’ve tried it 100 times and it still won’t work out the way it should. Here’s a bombshell for you…some patterns are actually INCORRECT! We all make mistakes, whether it be a typo or deleting a number by accident, and that happens in crochet patterns too. If you think there is a mistake in a pattern that you are following then please contact the author of the pattern to check. Any good designer would appreciate knowing if there is a mistake, and any good designer will usually be willing to help if you’re finding something really tricky. Some patterns that are published in magazines are usually linked to a website which has a list of corrections. For example, Simply Crochet Magazine have a section on their website called Pattern Corrections. Click HERE to have a look.
Finally, in my best teacher voice, the way forward with reading crochet patterns is ‘Practise Makes Perfect!’ Quite simply, the more you read them, the more you crochet using different techniques and stitches, the easier they will become to understand and follow.
It might not be the most exciting workshop that I run in the Crochet Cabin but I do offer a Basic Pattern Reading Workshop. Click HERE for more details.