New to crochet
Start here
If you have never held a hook, this is the page you want. One pattern, about half an hour, and by the end of it you will own the four things every crochet project in the world is built from.
You need three things
| A hook | 5.0 mm, sometimes labelled US H-8. Any material is fine. |
| Cotton yarn | Worsted weight, sometimes labelled Category 4 or "aran". Cotton rather than acrylic, because it shows your stitches clearly while you're learning and doesn't split as easily. |
| Scissors and a blunt needle | A tapestry needle, for tidying the ends away at the finish. |
That's under £10 in any craft shop, and the yarn will make about four coasters.
Then make this
First Loops
A classic coaster, and your first four skills
It assumes you know nothing at all. It teaches the slip knot, the chain, the single crochet and how to finish off — with a diagram for each, and a section on how to hold the hook and the yarn before you begin.
Three things worth knowing before you start
Your first row will look terrible. Everyone's does. The first row worked into a foundation chain is the hardest row in crochet, because the chain is floppy and gives you nothing to hold. It gets markedly easier at row two.
Even matters more than tight. Tension that's consistent looks good even if it's loose. It's unevenness that shows, and it settles down on its own within a project or two.
Count. Nearly every beginner problem is a stitch gained or lost at the end of a row. Counting at the end of each row catches it while it's still a two-minute fix.