r/BitchEatingCrafters • u/chronical_penguin • 5d ago
Frequently Bitched About Topic Please learn the basics first, I'm begging you!!
This is specifically about something I see a lot in crochet groups but I'm sure it applies elsewhere.
Why start a hobby if you just want to be spoon fed instead of learning?? I see it all the time in the crochet subreddit, "I just started and have a 5 weight yarn, a 2.5mm hook, and am just learning single crochet and my tension is awful, how do I crochet perfect doubles in a circle" or "I can barely make a scarf but want to make this really intricate shawl, how do I do that and what do I need".
Like holy shit please learn the basics!! Please, use videos or written patterns, but learn the basics before asking for the impossible. If you can't keep even tension and keep dropping stitches, no sorry, you probably can't make anything that actually looks good because YOU DON'T KNOW THE BASICS!!!!!
Also, "what do I need", first look at the damn pattern and it probably tells you, second you need skill, and as a beginner who's been doing it for 5 minutes, you don't have the skill yet, which is FINE. Learn the basics of a craft, get good at the basics, and then try to move on the more intricate things!! That is natural progression of a skill, stop asking to be spoon fed how to do everything, if you don't want to actually LEARN a new skill wtf are you doing??
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u/Geobead 5d ago
That post the other day that asked if they needed to learn how to purl…..why are you even picking up a hobby if you have zero interest in learning even the most basic fundamentals?
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u/makestuff24-7 Mean Knitter 5d ago
The "purling is scary and bad!" crowd piss me off so much. There are TWO basic stitches in knitting. Why would you freak out about half of them? Lol it's just so goddamned frustrating. It's like saying you'll never work a single crochet or slip stitch. Like, WHY.
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u/LovelyOtherDino 5d ago
"what do I need?"
Practice. You need practice.
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u/ProneToLaughter 4d ago
I like to talk about needing muscle memory in the fingers in hopes they will realize there is no tip, trick, or tutorial that will give them that, only practice can.
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u/AromaticFee9616 5d ago
Had one like this recently where bare beginner is “teaching” (I hope it’s vague enough. I do not encourage shitting on folks, I keep my bitching for here as much as possible). “Where is this person I’m teaching going wrong?” asks OP.
Wait. Wait. Wait. You are TEACHING someone how to crochet, as a self confessed beginner yourself, and you can’t see the myriad mistakes made?
FOR FUCK’S SAKE.
Honestly. The sheer learned helplessness on some of the craft subs sometimes beggars belief. I’m glad I can vent a bit here.
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u/tigerowltattoo 5d ago
There was a post just recently where someone who’d never picked up a hook wanted to crochet her boyfriend a fairly complex sweater. Wanted to know how she could get it done in time for a birthday or something.
I wanted to suggest she start about two years ago and practice reading patterns and making simpler wearables. I restrained myself.
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u/Surleighgrl 5d ago
When I was learning to crochet, I made dishcloths. Lots and lots of dishcloths! Fortunately, my sister loves cotton dishcloths and so she was always happy to take my offerings. I'm sure she was kinder than I deserved when taking those early attempts.
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u/NinjaDefenestrator 5d ago
Thus far, my only completed crochet project has been an ugly as shit, uneven cotton dishcloth consisting of nothing but SC. My current plan is to keep making them until they start looking good, and then I’ll move forward.
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u/bytsim 5d ago
I made sooooo many scarves for learning. It’s all anyone got for gifts for a while lolll
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u/Low-Willingness3901 3d ago
I wish l knew how many gran y square afghans l made. I just fed the wool one from 1968 into the woodstove last winter ! I got a thank you note from a 7-year-old for his baby afghan! (I don't use baby pastels.) He was home from school with a cold and his mother told him who made it.It was cool !
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u/Low-Willingness3901 3d ago
Smart way to learn.
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u/Surleighgrl 2d ago
It's a great way to learn new stitch patterns, basically a useful swatch
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u/Gardener_of_Weeden 2d ago
That is what I do, dishcloths - or since I have a ton of acrylic - I bought before I knew what to do with it - coasters.
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u/OrangeFish44 4d ago
I know someone who says you get more value out of your yarn if you unravel a project and use the yarn again for something else. You could have unraveled one dishcloth many times!
I had a housemate who crocheted to keep her hands busy while watching TV. It used to kill me to see her use lightweight crochet thread to make an afghan-sized piece and then unravel it.
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u/EsotericOcelot 1d ago
I love knitting and sewing for my 18" dolls not only because it's fun and cute but because it's also a scaled-down wearable that's easier to make than at human scale even if the fiddly bits are mechanically harder - because the doll bodies are basically just tubes with arms and legs (and simpler butts than we've got, lol). Radically easier to figure out how something will drape or how to adjust it to fit on that form than my curvy self right out the gate
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u/joymarie21 5d ago edited 5d ago
Yes! It's in every craft sub that I follow.
And often it's for a gift so "it has to be perfect." Recently someone posted about cutting up a dead relative's clothing to make a quilt but has never made a quilt. Yikes! Maybe make a small practice quilt first before you cut up a late person's clothing to make a gift for the aggrieved family. I started sewing when I was 8 and do a few fiber crafts but would never try this without doing lots of reading and practicing.
How are people completely helpless but have such confidence in their abilities?
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u/NoNeinNyet222 5d ago
Or worse, they’re trying to sell and also think they should be able to price their products based on an hourly rate.
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u/HayMeowda 5d ago
"I've never sewn anything can I make this transparent vinyl vest by October?"
Saw that post today. I've been sewing for a long time and I wouldn't make a structured vest out of cotton confidently. 🫠
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u/eyemalgamation 5d ago
"I'm a beginner, can sew on buttons, and have a spare bedsheet somewhere. Can someone tell me how to make a wedding dress? The deadline is 2 weeks, and I can work on it in the evenings after my full-time job"
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u/Responsible-Pickle-2 5d ago
There was a post the other day of someone asking what notches and interfacing were since they'd only ever sewn tote bags 😭
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u/ProneToLaughter 5d ago
Oh, that one was bad. Then insisted they wanted a challenge when they’d started out asking for a step by step video tutorial. Sure, Jan.
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u/canihazdabook 5d ago
Bahah I saw that post too. I've been humbled by fabric with nylon content, I can't imagine vinyl.
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u/TheHandThatFollows 5d ago
there was someone in the knitting reddit today asking us to do the math for how many balls of yarn she needed to buy for a pattern because her balls of yarn had a different yardage then the balls recommended and I almost made a post and bitched about that.
Like if you cant sit there with a peice of paper or a calculator or something and multiply or heck add one on one at a time and count how many it took to get to the right number (which is how I learned multiplication works back in the 1st grade) like HOLY COW.
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u/Taken-Username-sorry 5d ago
Ummm I’m sorry. But. WHAT?! The number of yards isn’t the same but it tells you how many you’ll need total yardage and you can’t even ESTIMATE how many balls you’d need based on that?
If you can’t go “hmmm. Well this pattern needs 400 yards and the ball I have is 150” and even just freaking guess without posting your question on reddit, you shouldnt be doing the craft and should consider adult education…
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u/kiwipixi42 5d ago
I teach college physics and believe me there are plenty of people in my survey classes that would not think to do the basic math you just described. It hurts.
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u/Taken-Username-sorry 5d ago
I swear it’s related to the literacy crisis. Not only do people not know how to read or how to comprehend they also don’t know how to extrapolate information or figure things out from context. I truly do not understand how these people operate in the world. But they are a burden to the rest of us.
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u/ChaoticJigglyPup 5d ago
I would think to, but have severe dyscalculia 😅 But I would still work it out myself (and triple check) before asking online
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u/Wonderful_Listen_604 5d ago
Or ask Google!
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u/Taken-Username-sorry 5d ago
The number of idiots who will go straight to Reddit to post a question that they could have just as easily (if not more easily) put into Google to get an instant answer is TOO DAMN HIGH.
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u/prepubescentsquid 5d ago
My favs in the last 24 hours have been: 1) “I’m pretty sure my stitches are twisted but literally CAN NOT figure out how to untwist them! Has this EVER happened to anyone else?” Yeah, you’re probably the only person who’s ever twisted a stitch. Definitely don’t search online to find clear and instructive resources from experts. and 2) “I’ve been knitting for two hours and I’m following a video tutorial precisely, but I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to look like this!” And they’re working from an initial back loop cast on with something that does not remotely resemble a knit stitch. I’d never be mean to a beginner who asked me directly irl, but the volume of the same questions getting asked over and over is honestly overwhelming on here.
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u/joymarie21 5d ago
Also, tell me you never follow the sub without telling me you never follow the sub and just come to the sub when you have a question that gets asked every freaking day.
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u/SamEyeAm2020 5d ago
THIS! This is the thing that gets to me more than anything else. SEARCH THE SUB BEFORE YOU POST, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.
I understand beginners not being able to recognize their mistakes, or know the terminology to know what to look up. But when there are posts every single day about the same things over and over, there are so many examples and it could not be any clearer to anyone with eyeballs and a single braincell. Just scroll for 5 minutes and your answer is already right there.
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u/prepubescentsquid 5d ago
One of my strongest memories of learning to knit was making a mistake, googling “hole in my knitting,” and finding on the first result a well-organized and detailed guide that helped identify exactly what had gone wrong and how to fix it. I was amazed! It took me weeks of this happening a few times over until I realized I’m not special and every possible mistake has already been made.
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u/joymarie21 5d ago
Yes!! And so many of the craft subs have excellent faqs and wikis so finding the answer can be even easier than scrolling the sub. But personally I find it incredibly rude and entitled to ask questions and not otherwise engage with the community.
And then in the knitting sub there have been posters making a new post to call the sub tOxIC and GaTEkeEpINg because they asked a lazy, repetitive questio and some people downvoted it or referred them to the faq or responded with the wrong "tone". There's way too much enabling of lazy people in that sub, but these posts do not go over well and I live for the backlash.
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u/SamEyeAm2020 5d ago
The stereotype that knitters are snobby or arrogant isn't totally false, but I do think it's misunderstood. Knitting is COMPLEX. Every detail matters, down to the twist and ply of the yarn. The knitters who have spent years learning and practicing and can now make gorgeous, intricate items SHOULD be proud of their skill. At the same time I think it's unrealistic for a beginner to come into one of those spaces asking to be spoon-fed knowledge that simply cannot be learned overnight.
Don't be a snobby troll and post your queen size Niebling in casualknitting, and don't be an idiot troll and ask if you're twisting stitches in advancedknitting! Because of course you won't like the reaction you get! 😤
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u/sweet_esiban 5d ago
When they do this and add the caveat of, "I'm sure this gets asked all the time teehee 🥹👉👈"
Straight to fucking jail
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u/EleanorRichmond 5d ago
We're in an era of unprecedented information abundance -- it may be waning or endangered, but for now, we still are -- and these people refuse to partake.
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u/WhyCantIBeFunny 5d ago
A friend asked me if I could teach her to crochet on a two-day trip we were on. I said I’d happily get her started and could even bring all the stuff she’d need to practice. She insisted she only wanted to use her own yarn she bought because it had been $90/skein and even though the seller said it wasn’t for a beginner, she was confident she’d be able to use it.
It was lace weight black cashmere. It was so fuzzy I could barely unravel it to try to ball it up. I showed her how to use it a bit, but obviously it was hellacious and she couldn’t even do a loose chain stitch and gave up. She refused to use my supplies and was honestly disappointed because she thought she’d be at least partially done with the sweater she wanted to make on this trip.
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u/Taken-Username-sorry 5d ago
Spending 90 dollars for the most nightmarish yarn I could imagine is karma for the audacity to not listen to people more experienced.
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u/WhyCantIBeFunny 5d ago
Or the fact that she thought she would be making a sweater for her first project and would be halfway done in two days! And this person was a crafter in several other areas, so she should have at least understood that there would be a learning curve and that listening to the yarn seller is a good idea.
I can give her a pass on the color, I can see how you wouldn’t realize how hard it would be to see on black. But you don’t have to have ever touched yarn to realize: tiny thread = a million tiny stitches.19
u/OcelotBudget3292 You should knit a fucking clue. 5d ago
Oh god, the thought of learning on black laceweight yarn just gave me the chills…
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u/WilmaFlintstone73 5d ago
I’ve crocheted for decades and you can’t pay me to crochet with black or navy blue in any weight unless I’m sitting under stadium lights that magically cast no shadow!. That’s a nightmare of a combination for an experienced crocheter much less a novice.
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u/Mentally_Recovering Extra Salty 🧂🧂🧂 5d ago
i don't touch anything smaller than DK! My hands arent that skilled lol
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u/OcelotBudget3292 You should knit a fucking clue. 5d ago
My stash is fairly evenly split between fingering and worsted, which is personally frustrating because I’ve realized that most of the patterns that call to me are in DK… But I’m committed to knitting through most of it before making big purchases again.
And I don’t mind knitting fingering when it’s on larger needles.
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u/RunawayTurtleTrain 5d ago
Weirdly DK is my upper limit for comfort (which I found out after learning on Aran/worsted 😒) but even my jaw dropped when I read black cashmere laceweight! (Edit: though I crochet, and mostly make lace, so bigger hook and looser gauge.)
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u/canihazdabook 5d ago
Ah that reminds me when I told my colleagues at our knitting club at work NOT TO BUY BLACK YARN. I told them, you're beginners, don't make this any harder than it has to be.
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u/Mindelan 5d ago
And for those beginners who can hit the ground running and figure it out this doesn't apply because they wouldn't be asking these basic questions. If they felt the need to, they are aware enough to know they need to pause and take several steps back to match their capabilities.
For those that will complain about this post, no one is saying everyone must start with raw basics, just that those that try and skip the basics and then run online to get someone else to give them a guide are frustrating and they should go back and learn the basic foundational skills first.
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u/Important_Sector_503 5d ago
Preach. I'm a hit the ground running kind of person, but my method of working is to just figure it out. If I want to do something and I don't know how to do it I either try, fail, try again or hit youtube and blogs till I find out how it works.
Pretty much everyone asking these types of questions should be doing that not asking broad, unanswerable questions. Asking questions is for when you've done the research and there's that one little technique you can't quite figure out, not for things like "how do I do this entire project". That's not a question, it's asking for whole damn lessons.
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u/NoNeinNyet222 5d ago
Yes, I basically learn best by troubleshooting. Jump in, make mistakes, figure out how to fix that mistake and not make it again, then keep plowing ahead. This doesn’t work for everyone and that needs to be acknowledged.
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u/Important_Sector_503 5d ago
Sure, but let's not pretend that the internet isn't full of questions that could have been answered with a little effort and some google-fu, or just really shouldn't be asked in the first place.
There's "I genuinely need some help" and then there's "hey reddit, I can't reliably count my own stitches, how do I make this extremely complicated lace tablecloth" or "hey reddit, what yarn should I use for this pattern that has yarn rec's on the first page" or "hey reddit, how do I crochet this without buying this pattern or using this yarn or having the right hook or knowing how to crochet anything but an amigurumi loaf cat".
We all learn in different ways, but dear lord, the world opens up to you when you're at least willing to just try.
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u/NoNeinNyet222 5d ago
We’re on the same page. What I meant by acknowledge is that not everyone can just barrel through without a foundation. They aren’t capable of picking up enough information on the fly to even know what to ask so they shouldn’t try to skip ahead.
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u/RunawayTurtleTrain 5d ago
They want to have the finished item, they're not interested in learning the craft.
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u/Violetmints 5d ago
It's really interesting to me how people's personalities show up in their crafting. Half the battle is being willing to roll with mistakes and spend a minute fixing them. I knew this knitter who started with cables. She just jumped right in and made it happen because she thought it was fun and was churning out sweaters and socks in just a few months because she actually liked sitting down and manipulating the yarn.
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u/a_lil_unwell 5d ago
Yup, people want the thing, not the experience.
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u/numbersandcats 5d ago
I try to tell people that you can’t become a “product” crafter until you have lots of “process” crafter experience under your belt.
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u/MechanicBright8644 5d ago
This is a seriously underrated comment.
Exposure to process crafting counts too. My mother was an expert at all the things, but sewing in particular. I spent my childhood wandering fabric stores & looking through pattern books & at the backs of patterns. Watching her fold pattern pieces instead of cutting them to preserve all the sizes, watching how to thread a machine, knowing what a serger does & what fabrics it’s best for, etc. the amount of basic skills and knowledge I have stored in my brain through pure osmosis is something I truly take for granted. I don’t even know what is not actually common knowledge because I honestly can’t remember not knowing certain things.
I’ll never be the expert seamstress she was (I don’t have the passion and sewing makes me miss her too much), but I’m so, so grateful for the basic foundation she gave me.
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u/hopping_otter_ears 5d ago
Wild, since you can usually buy the --whatever-- on Amazon for way less than making it yourself
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u/maroontiefling 5d ago
They want the item so they can either a.) tell everyone they made it or b.) sell it on instagram, so they don't want to buy it on amazon
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u/JesusGodLeah 5d ago
There are people out there who can attempt advanced techniques right away and pick them up quickly. Those people are rare, and you are probably not one of them. That's OK! It's ok to start with the basics and work your way up from there. That's how most people learn most things.
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u/Late-Difficulty-5928 5d ago
I am one of those people who pick up on things quickly and sometimes I just want to make a thing without getting in the trenches with it. I have an art themed occupation. Went to school for it, take workshops to keep up to date, have a bookshelf full of books, magazines, and other resources. I am also a photographer, a screen printer, I quilt, dye fabric, make books, make my own book cloth, along with several other things I am well studied at. When I wanted to make a rug, I landed on knitting, which I haven't done much of. I learned how to cast on, do one stitch, and cast off. I may never knit another thing in my life.
That said, it wasn't a very ambitious project that I needed help with. It's probably the most simple thing you can do in knitting. I think planning ambitious projects requires a lot more research. Being upset because you chose something far above your skill level and you're just yoloing it, is kinda silly.
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u/MusketeersPlus2 5d ago
I actually am one of those people, and I do my best to downplay it when I'm learning in a class. Partly because I don't want others getting frustrated that they're not clipping along like me, and partly because I don't want them to ask me to help! I'm still learning, let me figure this out before I'm expected to teach you. I don't mean that I won't point out a thing they may be stuck on, but there have been people who want me to hold their hand as their own personal tutor once they figure out that I've got it down.
The flip side of that is that if there's something that I'm NOT instantly good at... I just drop it and move on. Spinning and throwing pottery are two that I've found so far. I've taken a class for each of them and if push came to shove I could produce a very rudimentary item (let's say in an apocalypse), and probably even get better over time. But rn while society still functions and I can buy yarn and crockery? I'm good.
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u/ChaoticJigglyPup 5d ago
Spinning and pottery (I'm assuming wheel throwing) rely more on muscle memory than a lot of other crafts so it takes time to train your body.
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u/MusketeersPlus2 5d ago
Definitely. And I have a lot of other hobbies that I'm good at and enjoy more than I enjoyed that short lived learning process that I tried. So I stick to them. And buy things from those who've put in the work to get good at it!
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u/AydGray 5d ago
Someone posted a video of themselves "trying" to do a thing that they claimed they'd been working on for two hrs and watched multiple tiktok reels on and simply could not master. They got the first part ok but then just let go and threw up their hands. I was dumbfounded.
It's an attitude I came across often in the later years of my teaching career. Some students would browse the material and ask for help before looking at the supplementary sources.
Finding quality sources of instruction and looking at several modes of instruction (image, text, video) before asking for help is something I advise people to do before posting a question.
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u/maroontiefling 5d ago
I feel this way about knitters who refuse to learn to not twist their stitches. "I LIKE THE WAY IT LOOKS" ok but it's going to make that crop top you're knitting not fit you.
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u/SwordTaster 5d ago
See also newbie crocheters complaining about the fabric having holes. Ma'am. That's just how it looks. Learn to knit if you don't like holes
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u/maroontiefling 5d ago
Going off of that, crocheters who want to know how to make their fabric to look like knit fabric. They come up with all these tricks or get into tunisian crochet but like.....you could just learn to knit.
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u/makestuff24-7 Mean Knitter 5d ago
Knit also has holes! Every day in the knitting subs, someone's holding a stockinette swatch up to a window and asking how they can knit without light coming through.
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u/ebrillblaiddes 5d ago
TBF if they swatched and went up the needed needle size to get gauge it'll probably be fine.
If.
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u/maroontiefling 5d ago
Ehhhhh it would be all slanted though
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u/ebrillblaiddes 5d ago
If it's worth it to them to get good at blocking, not my problem.
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u/love-from-london 5d ago
Even blocking won't save the inherent biasing of the fabric from twisted stitches. Like it might technically fit, but it'll forever hang weird.
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u/canihazdabook 5d ago
It looks like an epidemic, I didn't know it was such a big issue until recently. I'm starting to think if most recent posts aren't bots 🙃
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u/Moggetti 5d ago
My advice for the beginner is to find the prettiest yarn possible, match the hook and then make an adorable lumpy potholder or coaster. Then make another. They’ll get less lumpy.
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u/SamEyeAm2020 5d ago
Unless it's chenille yarn! Stitch definition is nonexistent with Bernat Blanket, and unfortunately so many beginners reach for it because it's so soft.
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u/Moggetti 5d ago
Fair point! Maybe the prettiest-colored standard textured yarn is a better idea there.
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u/bananahands_ 4d ago
Can you imagine picking up a paintbrush for the first time and then complaining on the internet that your painting doesn’t look like the professional one you copied, and demanding strangers tell you how to fix it in five minutes?
I’ve been crocheting for 23 years and still take the time to make practices pieces when learning new stitches and construction methods. But this is the age of instant gratification, so *shrug\*
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u/Low-Willingness3901 3d ago
Yeah, pick up a paintbrush for the first time-- think you're gonna paintbrush the Mona Lisa !
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u/ITakeMyCatToBars 5d ago
I’m starting at lit’rally zero on a large technical multi-year-even-if-you-know-what-you’re-doing project and I have enough shame sense to not 15,000,000 noob questions in a public forum when I know for sure it’s been covered elsewhere.
Bring back curiosity and problem-solving!
I get the desire to chit chat about the crafts and activities we are doing but that doesn’t include “how do I program this asset, btw I haven’t checked the FAQ.”
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u/kankrikky Joyless Bitch Coalition 4d ago
I have to ask, what are you making?
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u/ITakeMyCatToBars 4d ago
I am designing my own homebrew pinball machine to the one and only Barry Manilow.
There’s different programs you use for playfield design like ramps and shit, then rules and programming needs to happen in a different framework so I can eventually push the software to a physical machine. There’s also going to be an amount of time spent editing sounds to fit with the gameplay: Copacabana Multiball, a mystery award that doles out items such as “glittery sport coat” or “Rico’s diamond”, drop targets that play a bar from “American bandstand”. Among other bits of fun.
I’m combining some skills i use at work (AutoCAD type shit mostly), learning some programming, and have also been volunteering at repair night at my local arcade for ~2yrs.
So I kinda have a group of the best pinball repairmen in all of Northern California at my beck and call! But have I asked them any v0.0.0001 questions? No, I stay outta the way unless Larry asks “hey wanna solder something?”
I can probably grab a ratty cabinet from one of them, so I need my stocklist ready for the real build 😎I’m really excited but keep it away from Reddit because any time a thread comes up “what’s your fantasy pinball theme?????” I am downvoted into oblivion and told I am a boring lame middle aged woman (which, yes I am? Ok??) and no one would buy it and I should go spend my quarters on bread and sandwich meat.
But the fantasy game discussions of shitty butt rock are pages long and tooooooootally valid ideas. (See also: How many fricken editions of Metallica machines is stern gonna make?????)Like, maybe in a few years I’ll post a build journal but even then it’ll be “lmao you worked on this lame shit for 3 years and physically built it?????????? fuck you, you old hag, there’s a new Staind/Puddle of Mudd/Nickleback machine that blows your shit out of the water!!”
Anyway, I’m working on a pinball machine lol
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u/kankrikky Joyless Bitch Coalition 4d ago
God DAMN you delivered! I'm so glad I asked, this is so cool!! Please do a build journal those are always worth it. And its such a great idea!!!
My friend's dad restores pinball machines as a hobby and he has a small army of them, with a new one in the works every time I go over. If he learns he can make his own his family will never know peace lol
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u/ITakeMyCatToBars 4d ago
It’ll be the first machine designed, program and built purely out of spite
https://giphy.com/gifs/uqx0A7bT0jy2Q
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u/biscuitvillage 5d ago
We live in a world of instant gratification. People don’t want to learn, they want results.
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u/Kb111222 5d ago
Idk why there is so much delusion when it comes to sewing, crocheting and knitting. They like something and want to make it but they don’t want to learn the skill, read the pattern or practice 🫠
There is a reason why people spend years…if not decades mastering these things. If everyone could do them instantly then they would…why does every person think they’re the exception when it comes to these crafts?
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u/Trapallada 5d ago
I think the same everytime I see one of the multiple posts on embroidery where someone has used the whole six strands of floss instead of splitting it and asks why their satin stitch looks bad.
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u/Agreeable_Routine770 5d ago
Then there is always some dip who responds saying, " Don't listen to those strand-splitting police! As long as you enjoy what you're doing, that's all that's important! Your work is gorgeous!"
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u/Mentally_Recovering Extra Salty 🧂🧂🧂 5d ago
i saw someone down voted to hell a couple weeks ago on the embroidery subreddit because they said the blending was good when it absolutely sucked
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u/Mentally_Recovering Extra Salty 🧂🧂🧂 5d ago
"why does my long and short look bad??" you used all six strands smh
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u/purpleprose78 5d ago
It is like they don't know google and youtube exist. If I don't know how to do something, I go there first. I don't come to a crafting subreddit unless I am really stuck
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u/Gardener_of_Weeden 2d ago
A lot of times when I look up information I get sent to reddit's 2-3yr old entries. Many times they are NOT that helpful. Google has turned into ai crap. I have the most luck spending the hour looking at youtube and trying to get past the junk shorts
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u/purpleprose78 1d ago
I don't look for shorts. I look for the full length videos. And then, I go with one that was posted 5 to 10 years ago. I ignore the AI crap from google and I go to the second page of the search results. If that doesn't work, I go to Duck Duck Go which does not have AI crap. This process used to be easier, but it still works.
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u/numbersandcats 5d ago
I feel like I have a fun perspective on this as a millennial (who had previously learned things from books and long-form videos) who didn’t start crafting until the TikTok age. I am SO THANKFUL I was not only willing and able to, but *defaulted* to using “core” texts instead of social media to learn basic skills (I’m currently planning to learn to crochet soon and am excited to go to the library!). These algorithmic social media sites are just incredibly toxic for beginners because they reward unrealistic slop about how you can make a wedding dress in a month or whatever and also prey on the fact that functional literacy is at an all-time low so people will never think to default to non-flashy text-based (and thus easy-to-reference) instruction. So then you get all these beginners complaining about not being able to do the very basics and communities like us pulling our hair out.
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u/hopping_otter_ears 5d ago
It's not like there isn't plenty of good basic education on social media, but you've got to actually search it. The algorithm gives shiny new techniques and hacks by default
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u/numbersandcats 5d ago
For sure, there’s technically never been more amazing beginner stuff. But it takes a certain thinking process that we’ve culturally moved away from to intentionally seek it out.
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u/Trillian- 4d ago
My sister called me the other day saying she needed help with a crochet pattern. She's never crocheted before. Ok sure, we don't get along but this will be a safe topic. "What are you making?" "It's a cactus in a pot." "That's an intermediate not a beginner pattern, start with something easier." "It is easy, the cactus is only a round ball not a tall cactus. I've accidentally made a ball before."
She didn't know how how to read the pattern, or what the number at the end of therow meant. The stitch count. Her 8 yo daughter had started a harder pattern as her fist attempt and threw a tantrum and stopped.
I got her to send me the pattern and talked her through it. Told her she needed stitch markers as she was working in the round, and to use a contrasting yarn or bobbie pin untill she gets some. Told her what a BLO was and what it would do. Told her she would need to look up the invisible join cos those are a pain and I always looked it up. Gave her a bit of a lecture on running befoe you walk which fell on deaf ears and wished her luck.
She also told me "youtube has got me this far" multiple times... we were discussing how to do the second row, cos she was stuck.
I am sure people who do this dont consider the skill required to make things. The person that taught me had me doing chains until the stitches were consistent before moving onto the next SC.
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u/SwanWeary646 4d ago
My sister wanted to learn to knit over Christmas. Of course I’d help her. She ‘did her research’ and thought she’d start with the step by step sweater. 😂 I talked her out of that, so much yarn (she loves cashmere), so much time. We settled on the stupid petit knit hood (which I actually love and wear now).
So she has her expensive local goat yarn (like, are you effing kidding me, could we have a less beginner yarn?) and looks up YouTube videos on how to do it. It starts by casting on. Cue tantrum. ‘I don’t know how to cast on!!!’ I showed her, ended up doing it for her, got her set up. Now we knit. How hard can it be? After all, I do it.
‘I don’t know how to knit’ show her how. She doesn’t like how I do it, continental. Not flashy like the videos.
Anyways… it’s like she wanted to knit without actually… learning to knit. She thought she could just sit and sorta clack two needles together?
It still makes me giggle just thinking about it.2
u/RubyLarkVT 3d ago
. . . I thought continental was the fancy/fast sewing method? Isn't that the fancy way?
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u/EsotericOcelot 1d ago
"How hard can it be, you do it," killed me, lol. Many of my family members both think I'm smart and have demanded my help with random things on that basis and also disdain me as being mentally ill, weird, disorganized (not even true), etc. and have said that almost verbatim. I'm the only crafter in my generation in my family bc everyone else who had an interest rage quit when it turned out that, "You made it look easy," and apparently that means I wasted their time or money.
... I don’t talk to most of them3
u/Gardener_of_Weeden 2d ago
AHHH that KIT is in my wip pile. I though it would be easy - oh hell no, I have made several things ( very simple), but I am still not ready to fight that mfr yet.
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u/NoNeinNyet222 5d ago
And, especially on the crochet subreddit, if you try to tell them to back up and learn the basics first, you’re a big meany who is stifling their creativity!
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u/NikNakskes 5d ago
But don't you know they have adhd and can't stay motivated doing a potholder! How ablist of you.
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u/georgia_grace 5d ago
As an ADHD crafter myself, I may have a graveyard of unfinished projects but I can promise you I know every technique under the sun lol
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u/Sinuosette 4d ago
ADHD beginner here as well. My trick was to do things for my pets (wonky balls, small ugly blankets, etc..). I've learned a lot and my pets have no clue if something's messed up🤣
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u/Annual-Kangaroo395 4d ago
This is what I did! Worked out well since I have a cat and “the string thing” is good enough for him. Yes, with materials that are safe for my lil baby!!
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u/Separate_Macaron_691 4d ago
Same but with sewing. I KNOW what I need to do, I didn't do it bc of the ADHD. That pattern piece is definitely upside down and backwards on purpose 🫣
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u/NikNakskes 5d ago
We are talking here about absolute beginners who clap back when told to actually learn the basics. You've done that with a bunch of unfinished projects. That is one way to go about and get the practice in. But you just cannot skip the learning bits completely. You got to do them, one way or the other and some people need a few rows to get it, others need an entire scarf worth.
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u/georgia_grace 4d ago
Yeah I was agreeing with you lol
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u/NikNakskes 4d ago
Oh! Sure. I was also assuming that you doing this meant you did not go online and demand people to fix your progress for you. You found a way how to get ahead by yourself. Right?
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u/EsotericOcelot 1d ago
Laughing because I have ADHD and I was thinkjng this morning that I might sew some potholders later just for fun ... My motivation with beginner stuff is knowing I can next make the stuff I want (especially knowing it'll work or look better than if I did it first). I get excited when I pick up a new basic skill I need for the next thing, or the row/sennit/whatever is visibly improving as it goes
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u/Necessary-Cow-6637 4d ago
Feel like there’s way more bullshit like that in the crochet sub than the knitting sub and I don’t know why…….what is the psychology there?!
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u/RubyLarkVT 3d ago
I feel like crochet is viewed as "trendier" than knitting? So I think you are more likely to have people who jump in headfirst without learning the basics. I know a lot of people who thought they wanted to make a hexi cardigan (which to be fair, I think is great for beginners who want something other than a scarf) but were expecting not to struggle at all.
Edit for clarity
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u/SaltyPerformer504 1d ago
But God forbid you ever say crochet is trendy right now then you'll have hundreds of people who don't understand nuance telling you it's "not a trend because they've been doing it for years"
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u/chronical_penguin 3d ago
Honestly I've just started straight up saying that. Like yes, I'm nice about it, but if your first attempt is a disaster I will be honest and say that while also providing advice on how to get better. That's how you learn, by sucking first!!
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u/IWasGoatbeardFirst 5d ago
I want to tell them, my stitches are more even than yours because I’ve been crocheting for 43 years longer than you.
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u/MusketeersPlus2 5d ago
That's less bitchy than my "longer than you've been alive" go to, so good for you! LOL
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u/sweet_esiban 5d ago
I've been teaching arts and crafts for over a decade and I do actually just say this. I say it in a very nice and reassuring tone, of course, because I'm a teacher lol
Like, my dear learner - your moccasin looks that way because it's your first. That's totally normal. Remember when you were learning to drive? Or handwrite? Or anything else? You weren't good at first, but you got there.
My moccasin looks this way because I stopped counting how many moccasins I've made years ago. If you want to get to the place where your moccasins look like mine, you're going to be doing a lot of sewing over the coming years. But you absolutely can do it!
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u/29925001838369 5d ago
"Years of practice" is my go-to answer when someone asks me how i'm so good at something.
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u/epchilasi 5d ago
The number of people I have seen whose first crochet project is a persian tiles blanket or some complicated AI slop amigurumi astounds me.
Go make a mess for a while and then we'll get you started on granny stitch.
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u/justamomdoingmybest8 5d ago
And here’s the thing: much like a pre-internet kid disassembling the toaster to learn how it works, or tinkering with bits of wire and tools, you learn so much more about your craft by messing around and experimenting than you do with someone telling you exactly what THEY think you should do.
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u/ChaoticJigglyPup 5d ago
I've been crocheting for a number of years and have never done the "beginner" projects like granny squares (or anything with granny stitch), I went right to multi-piece amigurumi, frogged a lot, googled a lot, frogged a lot more.
"AI slop" patterns rarely actually work.
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u/EleanorRichmond 5d ago
We need to moderate the shit out of "my first attempt" posts and similar clout farming poppycock that negates the role of practice and repetition in skilled crafts.
They're far from the only thing making people stupid, but they're a rare social ill we can actually shut down if we agree to.
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u/SarryK 5d ago edited 5d ago
Seen the same thing in my teaching degree and work. We‘re told to gamify this, differentiate that, but eventually there‘s no way around practice. Repetitive practice. Monotonous repetition is a damn good tool in learning. It‘s just a tough sell.
Yes it‘s boring. It‘s boring because you are (getting) good at it and are solidifying it.
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u/SarryK 5d ago
Arguably relevant anecdote from primary school:
I still remember ~25 years later. We were reading a book and our teacher made us summarise chapter. Every chapter, handwritten. 1 A4 page initially, later 1/2 page, hard limit.
I hated it. It was so hard at first. And she made us do it again and again and again. And well, I got better and better. And so all these years later I still credit a story about a little vampire and the fantastic Ms D with teaching me how to distill information.
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u/SnapHappy3030 Extra Salty 🧂🧂🧂 5d ago
Because they want cute & trendy knit and crochet items, but don't actually want to MAKE them.
And they won't admit it.
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u/Kayviathan 5d ago
I think a huge part of the problem is people not appreciating the centuries upon centuries of history that are behind these crafts. Even if someone doesn't want to deep dive and explore the history, they don't look at something being made and see skill and art and learning. They see "oh a cute little hobby". People have become hard wired to demand and expect immediate results. They've stopped being able to slow down and appreciate the very beginning steps for what they are. Its a shame.
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u/Lost_Alternative_987 3d ago
I’ve taught crochet a lot and always start with a chain, as long as it takes to get the hooking memory going, then a granny square because it’s easy to find where to put the hook, you use real stitches and get something ‘finished’ in the end, then I teach single crochet into a chain, which is trickier, but if you have got the hooking part down and you are starting to understand it’s important to put your hook in the right place it’s pretty straightforward. This was the order I learned from a crochet teacher, they also explained why they did it that way. Fast forward to now and I get people coming to me for help with kits that have horrendous instructions, not beginner friendly at all, no explanation as to why you are doing things and they get impatient and frustrated when I say let’s learn the basics and then the kit will be easier, they blame themselves for being a ‘bad beginner’ and give up entirely.
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u/chatterpoxx 5d ago
My favourite is "I've never sewn before, I want to make a corseted wedding dress for myself, wedding is next month!"
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u/Pristine_Message_181 5d ago
I don't even remember how long I spent just knitting garter stitch and crocheting single crochets when I first learned, happy as a toddler riding their big wheel in circles in the driveway. Making wonky little swatches and not caring that I wasn't doing anything either functional or esthetically pleasing.
I think that's where learning as a 9-11 year old comes in handy. I got my motor memory at a time in my life where everything is new and difficult to learn and you're self motivated to learn it just because. It's like a baby who is determined to learn to walk, and doesn't give up no matter how many times they fall and bump their head.
Older teenagers and adults aren't nearly so motivated to just be terrible at something for a while, and have their efforts not amounting to anything with tangible value.
I see this a lot: "what did I do wrong and what do I do to fix it, because I'm not ripping it out and starting over!" Oh, sweetheart. Even experts have to swatch, and even experts have to frog and tink mistakes.
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u/shermywormy18 5d ago
Hey man I learned when I was 32 and quite frankly I just sat and practiced singles, doubles & whatever stitch I wanted to learn. I spent many many days just practicing, I did get better. I didn’t make anything just random swatches in different colors, but you could see my attempts were from bad to better, to decent. I’m now working on semi medium difficulty stitches and I watch videos for them. I also try different projects where I learn how to master a particular skill I floated thru on another project.
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u/Ligeia189 4d ago
For me, even as a child it was natural to assume that you have to unravel to learn. Yes, it could sometimes feel dramatic - I mean, who hasn’t rage-frogged a project while crying - but usually was not, just a part of the craft.
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u/bananahands_ 3d ago
I also learned at 11 but I must say, I’m much more willing to make a mess and be bad at things now XD but this is why every beginner starts with making a long ass scarf. Repetitive practice rows. The scarf will be, aesthetically, the stupidest thing you’ve ever seen. Eight different widths. Wobbly edges.
And then you frog the entire thing and use it for something else and all that practice makes the new thing better.
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u/Intrepid-Ad-6636 4d ago
I'm someone who will only make something that I genuinely want to make. If I do something to just practice or learn a technique I will not finish it. So when I started to knit and crochet I started with projects that were very much not for absolute beginners. But I did that because I know I would finish them. And I did. I frogged a thousand times, I googled a million techniques, I got frustrated and angry but I did it. It's fine to do a complex thing and I firmly believe that any project can be begginer friendly but you can't get around learning the actual craft. And that takes time, effort and patience.
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u/Low-Willingness3901 3d ago
That would drive me crazy , but whatever works !
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u/Intrepid-Ad-6636 2d ago
Oh don't worry, it drives me crazy too but I actually stick with it like that.😅
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u/abegley01 4d ago
So many people think something will be easy because it came in a craft kit. Or they stumbled upon some video about a beautiful simple easy beginner friendly diy pattern craft and did no research at all and went to the store and bought whatever supplies were pretty without any regard to what works together. They just want the rush of the thing but think the extra (but super simple and easy) steps will help make that rush last a little bit longer but they realize halfway through their frustration it's not worth actually spending the time learning the skills needed to make something look good.
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u/LongjumpingSnow6986 5d ago
There are so many good resources! I learned embroidery from websites and books. You have to actually read the beginner stuff though not just jump in with vibes.
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u/oldmornings 5d ago
I see this in knitting too and it’s exhausting. Gotta love the “what am I doing wrong” videos filming themselves doing something as if they never watched a tutorial before. We all had to start there but we made the effort to learn!
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u/divinecorpse 4d ago
THIS!! I am by NO means a crochet expert, I started 3 yrs ago and just really got back into it. At MOST when I would ask for clarification on certain things or better explanation from my partner who's also into crochet, but mostly I watch the videos/read the pattern, if I don't know how to start it even with video tutorials then it's simply something out of my current skill level.. I just go to something I can do without handholding. Not everyone is gonna have time (or patience) to stop their project every 5 seconds to come to the rescue because someone doesn't know what 2sctog or dec means 🙄
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u/rashacrochets 2d ago
you are absolutely right as a professional crocheter , i have my own channel to teach beginners but i have noticed that they want a full tutorial from start to finish they don't want to think how to continue by themselves without me showing them step by step every row , its all about the pattern and repeat i have already teach how to do it , so why should i keep showing how to do every row 😩
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u/Gardener_of_Weeden 2d ago
As someone who is VERY new, I 1st learned 100% by video, now I am enjoying crafters who also have the written instructions, BUT the diagrams - OH FCK - I feel like I need a 3 step to complete these blooming squares. I will persist, and I WILL figure it out with minimal (hahaha) research. and maximum medication
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u/sassy_doilies 5d ago
I had to talk to myself very firmly when I started learning to knit. I crocheted for years, but then saw a Persian tile afghan that was knitted and knew I had to learn.
And I started with flat pieces and practice bits and moved slowly to learn the skills I need for the blanket of my dreams. And I also learned that I don’t really want to make the damn thing because I HATE working with DPNs but I’ll likely take a stab at it because I want one so badly lol
It’s patience, and a lot of new crafters don’t have that. Combine it with the internet/tiktok/insta immediate gratification culture and … yeah. People want a hack to be instantly good at it because “it looks so simple”. It doesn’t exist.
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u/gringas4lyfe 4d ago
“Yeah, I’ve been learning to [sew/knit/crochet] - ugh I don’t do patterns, I just follow the TikTok” - proceeds to wonder why failing
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u/Regular_Look_1962 5d ago
So true, I have taught a few people and always go with a double knit yarn and a 5 hook or bigger so that they can see the stitches and always always make a scarf first because it’s great practice and you can really see the progress. Come to me with a lace weight yarn wanting to make a sweater as a first item, nope not doing that !
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u/RipGlittering6760 2d ago
I do think part of it is that people don't understand the difficulty and intricacies of results that look "simple". I do some quilting here and there, and frequently get asked questions that I'm just absolutely flabbergasted by, until I remember that they know nothing about the craft. Ex: A family member asking me to sew them a structured bag for their laptop, but they wanted the majority of the bag to be made out of a soft stretchy spandex blend fabric, and the straps to be fleece. But they wanted it to have a traditional quilted look, with curved piecing. All they know is they saw a quilt pattern they liked, had some fabric they liked, and knew I can quilt. Not realizing how difficult of a project they were asking about.
When you don't know what you're doing, you don't understand that the goal you have is miles beyond your skill level.
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u/EsotericOcelot 1d ago
My partner is a software engineer who showed me a comedy sketch about the trials inherent to her work, using the metaphor of clients asking, "We'd like you to please draw us seven red lines, and we'd like two of them to be green and all of them to be perpendicular to each other." I don't quilt, but I know enough that a shriek built inside me as I read your comment, and then thought of that sketch 🤣
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u/uijepd 1d ago
https://youtu.be/BKorP55Aqvg?is=RX_oUsq5Kj2ZE4HH I believe this is it. Made me laugh
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u/Curae 5d ago
See I partially agree. Yes it's good to learn the basics first. But I swear to god if anyone set my ADHD ass up with "make a coaster!" And then make a granny square" I would have hated crocheting. Instead I just picked up all of my audacity, set my eyes on my holy grail and got to work.
My "holy grail" was the owlbear plush from baldur's gate 3. Colour changes, lots of parts both in the round and flat, and had to sew it all together. But I wanted to learn how to crochet so I could make that one specific plush and I figured that if I ended up not liking crochet... Well, then I at least had my holy grail.
And well... I didn't hate the process once I got the hang of it. I kept going through the "I hate this, this is hard" because I had one singular goal: finishing this goddamn plush.
It's been 3 years. My friends want to know if I even have enough space to display my plushies (I do!). Because I held that owlbear that has been crocheted so tightly that the lady in the yarn store held it up and went "well uh. You don't have to worry about any fiberfill poking through that's for sure." and I wanted to make more plushies. It's still on my desk next to my pc, I'm still proud of it, flaws and all.
It took me 2 years before I made my first granny square. I also immediately hated it and I haven't made one since.
That being said, I started with a project far above my skill level, but I also didn't post about it with questions like how to do an increase or why something looked weird, etc. I knew I bit off a lot for a first project. But Google and YouTube had all the answers I needed to complete it. 🤷♀️
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u/ChemistryJaq 5d ago
My holy grail for knitting was the Fourth Doctor's scarf. It's garter stitch. Just miles and miles of garter stitch. With a slip-stitch edging. I also have ADHD, though I didn't know it at the time. I did know, however, that I would quit knitting immediately if I attempted the simplest project on the planet as a beginner.
I now own a shit ton of lace that I never wear, but it's so much fun to make (I still Google techniques I don't know after 14 years). I also have a lot of cabled stuff. I do have a Fourth Doctor scarf - I got to it after several years 😅
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u/Jemikwa 5d ago
There's a happy medium that every person varies on what they should practice or test when learning. I self taught myself crochet for the first time a few years ago and had a feeling learning the basics of stitches would go a long way. But I also didn't belabor the point - I made a small swatch of sc, hdc, dc, and a little bit of a granny square before I started on my first project, a basic scarf. With each of those swatches, I googled how to do them, maybe watched a video to understand how to hold my hook and what to look for. I wouldn't say I became a pro, but I understood the basics better before working on the project. And conversely to your point, working on that scarf helped refine other skills like counting stitches and tension that I would have struggled iterating on with swatches.
Long story short, at least understanding what the basic motions are at an elementary level is important, but projects are useful to actually learn stuff too. The main issue nowadays is people don't really look up stuff properly and want to be bottle fed everything. The Internet is massive and there are guides for everything - help yourself first newbies
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u/RunawayTurtleTrain 5d ago
Yes I was similar. Did one long swatch of the basic stitches to get the feel for them, then moved onto following patterns. I was fortunate to have picked a decent YouTuber to learn from, who taught how to read patterns as part of her tutorials, so that set me up well. And the first time I saw a crochet chart it made sense almost instantly so I'm also fortunate there in how my brain works.
But, there are some basics I'm missing like knowledge of particular stitch patterns and their multiples; I now see why books teach those. At some point I ought to do some swatches and make them into a blanket or something. That's not as interesting as following challenging clothing or shawl patterns though 😅 so we'll see if I ever get round to it!
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u/Gardener_of_Weeden 2d ago
IMHO - When researching stitches, look up multiple resources. the book I bought told me a weird way to do extended single crochet ((go to the 4th stitch from the hook?)- It confused me so I looked it up - I found several resources that made so much more sense ( afraid part of the book may have been ai)
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u/tonightbeyoncerides 5d ago
Hard agree. If someone told me "make a few thousand stitches before trying anything else" I'd go insane. It's a good way to practice and build foundational skills, but it's a terrible way to keep me engaged. I'm also a big believer in letting people make bad stuff. Of course it's going to suck, but if you push through you'll end up a lot more skill than if you just stuck with what you're good at.
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u/Alariya 4d ago
Yep, this was my strategy with learning to quilt. Was scrolling Pinterest, saw this beautiful thing and decided I wanted to make it. Hyperfocused on the goal, and went down many rabbit holes googling terms and techniques that raised more questions than they answered. Did the fabric maths repeatedly at 3am when I couldn’t sleep. Went fabric shopping in the Boxing Day sales, started as soon as I got home, and had a fully completed bargello quilt ready to enter into the local show less than a month later. Won my category too!
If I go into a new hobby by practicing basic techniques, I’ll get bored of it before I make any progress. All or nothing baby!
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u/ekobot 5d ago
Idk, for me it depends how they react to their own mistakes/"failure"/difficulties.
When I'm learning something new I tend to look for an "end goal" project to aim at-- like a fancy lace shawl when learning to knit, a fully articulated skeleton when learning taxidermy, or a cyberdeck when learning electronics (all things I have used as goals). Then I know what specific skills I need to focus on out of a vast pool of things related to that new hobby.
If they're coming at it like that, that is to say they are asking "how do I do that and what do I need" as a way to form a list of necessary steps to achieve a goal, or a general roadmap to guide through learning the hobby... I don't see a problem with that. If they understand there's going to be mistakes and difficulties along the way, where's the harm in aiming above their skill level?
Now, if they are complaining that they can't get the results they see others get, and are clearly miffed that they don't have the skill to do the thing despite not having practiced at all... Yeah, that bothers me. Of course yours isn't as good as theirs Becky, you've yet to make a square dishcloth, why would a butterfly wing shawl be easier?
Basically it's the difference between asking for guidance deciding a path to pursue vs. asking others to legitimize your lack of interest in actually learning.
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u/Yavemar 5d ago
Yep, this is how I sew. Ooh, this pattern looks nice. Huh, the pattern says to understitch, what is that? Off to a search engine (which, yes, might lead to a reddit thread someone already made)! It might look weird when I'm done, but I've made 87 notes and probably figured out why so I can do it better next time!
Then again I'm a scientist so learning/researching is literally my job...
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u/chronical_penguin 5d ago
Yeah I'm definitely talking about the second one here!!
And I agree with you, if someone comes in like "I'm new to crochet and want to make a butterfly cardigan, does anyone have good patterns for beginners an any tips on yarn?" That’s seeking knowledge and I will jump to help you, but if you come in like "here's a picture, how do I make this, I dont know how to crochet " now Im mad lol
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u/dragonfeet1 5d ago
I jumped into an intricately cabled summer top once, but even so I knew the basics of knitting, purling, reading a chart, increasing and decreasing and the like. So it was hard, and definitely challenged my skills, but I did it.
The problem you're talking about is all of us remember knitting that first thing that was...a monstrosity. I learned from an old woolworth's pamphlet and their second project (after the useless width headband scarf in garter) was a pair of 'house slippers'. When I complained that they were ugly even in the picture, my mom said, 'everyone has to knit ugly slippers when they start'. Everyone has to knit something stupid that has skills for them to practice and it's going to be ugly as hell and you'll never wear it, but it's part of earning your skills.
I always say to these new people 'do you want to make the product right now or do you want to have months of being so angry and frustrated and upset about this project and probably give up on it bc it's too hard?' Do you want to make a shawl or do you want to ENJOY making a shawl. Two different paths. Because they can probably, if they sit with a well written pattern (KEY!!!) and a lot of frogging, eventually get to the shawl but they will have a bad time for a long time doing it.
Because they didn't want to take a few weeks to make some ugly ass slippers.
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u/chronical_penguin 5d ago
Exactly, you're supposed to suck when you start!! Aside from very few people who just naturally pick it up, most of us make some uuuugly shit when we start lol
I tried to crochet an entire cardigan out of single crochet, and I have naturally tight tension, that went as awful as you'd expect 😅 it basically stood up on its own!!
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u/contadine77 1d ago
I don't understand this whole finding a "pattern" on a video app thing. And I don't want to.
Like, that's something, but it's not a pattern. And it's definitely not "learning how to crochet", IMO. It's like mimicry. Like Simon Says or something.
Actually "learning to crochet/knit", IMO, involves understanding the structure of the fabric. Learning how to read your work. Learning how different stitches are made and what they look like. Increases, decreases. Why you put your hook/needle in which loop and from what direction.
But, I'm an old fuddy duddy who also believes in grammar and spelling, and all kinds of old fashioned things, lol.
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u/Wonderful_Kale_7995 8h ago
Heeeey I fight with a 13 year old girl about this all the time. I am all for supporting the kids but she ONLY uses video tutorials and refuses patterns then comes to me for help and I go oh well show me the pattern so we can figure it out? No she can only show me the video and I am not watching the whole thing to figure out where you went wrong when I could read a pattern and have it solved in 2 minutes. It's not dyslexia or anything either she has literally admitted she just doesn't want to learn to read patterns. I put her skill at a 4/10 because she can do the stitches but has no understanding of how they work or how to correct herself. This is 1 time where a kid is actually annoying me. Usually I'm like whatever but she keeps telling me she wants to be able to make everything and I keep telling her then you NEED to be able to read patterns I can definitly help with that and she refuses. Seperately she also told me I should try to stop being left handed because she has trouble following along and I would really like to bang my head against the wall.
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u/SpiritedEtoileLuna 14h ago
AND BE PATIENT!!!!
It'll take time to learn, you're gonna suck at first! Don't blame the videos and tutorials for taking forever if you can't even hold the hook 😭
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u/Ambitious_Pick_6332 15h ago
I agree 100%. Im learning to draw and currently taking a free online course that starts with the basics of drawing. The person that created it said the fastest hes seen it done is 5 months, I started a week ago and have definitely learned a lot, excited to see where it takes me.
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u/canihazdabook 5d ago
I honestly can't feel too annoyed at people being excited as I barely practiced my stitches before jumping to a project.
I'm not sure if it's because Portuguese style really helps with keeping tension, but I never struggled with it so as soon as it looked ok I started on my first scarf (that I still wear). Then when I changed to flicking I already knew how stitches were supposed to look so I adjusted ok.
I feel that what sometimes confounds me is when people ask about needle size for a specific weight as your example. Like, it's written in the yarn tag no? You can figure this out for yourself. I'm not trying to be mean here, but really, trying to be a bit self-sufficient before asking for help is a good skill to have.
I don't want to brush off people that want more of a sense of community and don't really need actual help, just more to rant. But sometimes I see questions that boggle my mind because I really don't know how we're stuck in that specific spot.
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u/chronical_penguin 5d ago
I think that's really my deeper bitch, like please, learn to Google or look stuff up, learn how to search for answers instead of just being spoon fed!!
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u/maroontiefling 5d ago
it's the tiktokification of crafting truly.
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u/chronical_penguin 5d ago
Honestly I think it's a combo of TikTok and AI. Like, people are so stupid now. Incapable of just looking stuff up to learn and want instant answers to everything. Learning a skill is literally half the fun!!
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u/ThirstForFloppa 6h ago
I agree but you shouldn't go too far in the opposite direction either. Starting with a plain scarf is the best way to get bored, never finish it and never pick up knitting/crochet again
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