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I learned to crochet when I was five years old, making my very first granny square.
My entire crochet background is outlined in My Crochet Career Part 1: My first crochet paycheck.
After that, I figured out how to make chevron patterns and a simple filet design.
And for the next twenty years… that’s pretty much what I made: blankets.
My stitches looked neat enough — my tension was even, and the fabric was flat — but my edges were sometimes off and I didn’t know why.
And, I definitely didn’t know how to read crochet patterns.
Even video tutorials were hard for me to follow because everyone seemed to have a different way of doing things, and their own language that I didn’t understand.
Then something unexpected happened.
Table of contents
Why crochet experience doesn’t mean expertise
I started teaching a friend how to crochet, showing her the same granny square I had learned all those years ago.
But instead of stopping there, she kept going.
Within months, she had taught herself how to make flowers, baby clothes, and all kinds of projects I’d never even tried.
One day, she explained to me how increasing works in joined rounds — and I was shocked:
I’d been crocheting for twenty years… but I didn’t really know crochet.
What I realized is this: I had been copying what I’d seen, without ever learning the foundation behind it all.
Crochet foundations for beginners
I knew how to do some stitches, sure — but I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
I didn’t understand stitch anatomy, couldn’t count properly to keep my edges straight, and patterns made no sense to me.
That moment completely changed how I thought about crochet.
I realized that if we’re just passing down what we were taught — and doing that our entire lives — we start to believe that time makes us experts, not the actual skills we’ve learned and practiced.
It’s like wanting to learn how to cook for yourself… but someone only shows you two recipes they know: scrambled eggs and banana muffins.
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Sure, those are easy, and maybe everyone likes them — but what if you don’t like bananas? Or breakfast food at all?
Wouldn’t it be so much better to learn what pantry staples to keep on hand, how your stove and oven work, and how to read and follow a recipe — so you can find your own taste and style?
That’s exactly what happened to me.
What every crocheter should know
I learned how to make a granny square (like learning to scramble eggs)… and I had no idea there was a whole world of stitches, patterns, and techniques I was completely missing out on.
Over time, I spent years digging deeper — learning and then building resources so I could finally get to the root of crochet and truly understand what the absolute basics are.
And guess what?
It turns out it’s way easier (and far more empowering) to learn and practice the true basics — like how stitches work and why — than it is to simply show a beginner how to make a granny square and hope they figure out the rest on their own.
It wasn’t about memorizing a few patterns or steps — it was about truly learning how crochet works from the inside out.
Crochet tips for self-taught beginners
That’s why I’ve spent years building resources, courses, and books that teach the real foundations of crochet:
✨ What stitches actually are and how they’re built
✨ How to read, count, and truly understand them
✨ How to shape projects and work in rows, tubes, and rounds
✨ And most importantly — how to feel confident enough to crochet anything you want
Because crochet should be about freedom, creativity, and skill — not just repeating what someone else once showed you.
And once you have that foundation, you’re not stuck copying what someone else did.
You can create, fix mistakes without panic, read any pattern, and truly enjoy crochet — instead of being limited by what you don’t know.
How to truly learn crochet
Ready to finally understand crochet — not just repeat it?
Check out the Crochet Learning Path at the ACA and build real skills that last a lifetime
Because crochet should be more than repeating what you saw — it should be something you understand, love, and can pass on with confidence.
Questions?
Let me know, or join our free online community to start a conversation there!
Peace + Love + Crochet
Salena
