Stitches

Does anyone have some cool crochet stitches?

I am somewhat a beginner and all I know is a basic chain going back and forth, I was wondering if anyone has some other stitches I could try.

Public Comments

1. me
2. My mother-in-law taught me how to crochet when I was pregnant with my first baby. I made little squares, sewed them together and had a blanket, hat, booties, sweater and bunting when I was done. Thirty-five years later, I still crochet all the time. It's like meditating. I do it when I watch TV, waiting in my car, at doctor's offices. I must have 15 projects going at once. There are soooo many ways and stitches, I still haven't tried them all. Find a good instruction book...one you can understand and experiment. Once I learned the four basic stitches (ch, sc,hdc,dc,) I taught myself the rest. It isn't rocket science. There are also classes at craft stores like Michael's, AC Moore, etc. I make afghans for charity because I've run out of relatives and friends to make them for. I even got published when I sold six of my own designs. At one point I crocheted for a designer, making sweaters that were sold to expensive boutiques. It gave me the chance to stay home with my kids. Have you learned how to do the half-double crochet stitch? It's one of the easiest and my favorite. Good luck and happy hooking!! Be careful of the yarn buying habit, though. I'm buried in yarn here.
3. i learned from the book I cant believe im crocheting to learn basic stuff. you can find it at any craft store its popular. and there is a lot of help and easy patterns online once you learn the single, double, triple or treble, and the half double. it shouldnt take more than a day to learn.
4. There's some good free photo how-to's for beginners listed at this link: http://crochet.about.com/library/blbeginners.htm ... free patterns for beginning crocheters there too! ... and many links to free how-to pages and photo tutorials for all kinds of crochet stitches and techniques at: http://crochet.about.com/library/weekly/aa052398.htm The step-by-step photo tutorials at that site make it a lot easier to learn more crochet stitches!
5. If you can make a single crochet and a double crochet stitch, then you can make almost any other crochet stitch. Most of the stitches are combinations of these two, from granny squares to fancy lace. Here is a stitch that I really like, especially for edging. It's called a crab stitch, or reverse crochet, among other names: You basically are making a single crochet stitch, except that in stead of inserting your hook in the space on the left, you insert it in the space to the right. Then complete the single just as you normally would, and keep on going to the right. It feels funny at first, but you quickly get used to it and it makes a pretty edging, almost braided looking. Don't hesitate to use crochet edging on knitting either; it can add a very nice effect. Have fun!