I'm a left handed crocheter

Andmommymakes5 wrote

on Feb 22, 2008 8:01 AM

I have always been a righty with everything else in life, except crocheting. I can't control the hook and thread well the other way. I have had a real hard time learning new stitches because almost all instructions are for righties. Any suggestions?

PaulineL wrote

on Feb 22, 2008 9:23 AM

Welcome! I hope some forum lefties will have a good suggestion for you. I'm a righty, so all I can do is sympathize.

Pauline

Jhanamo wrote

on Feb 23, 2008 2:07 PM

I'm a left handed person. I have been really interested in learning how to crochet. I would love to accomplish some baby blankets as gifts for my friends and family. I started teaching myself with a left-handed book and with another book called, "Stitch N' ***". However, stopped when I felt the books were not extremely helpful. Today I've come across, "Teaching Yourself Visually Crocheting", but I'm concerned whether or not I can follow it or if they have instructions for both righties AND lefties. I wish I could find "friends" who share the same learning passion as I do. I introduced my sister to scrapbooking, but now I'm tired of that hobby and find that I much rather keep learning about crocheting. I did teach myself about the chain stitch as well as the single single crochet stitch, but gave up after that and lately I find myself wanted go back to crocheting 101 college and start again. LOL. I will say I have this 33 page book that I found in Michael's Craft Store called, "Learn to Crochet in Just One Day-Left Handed Version". It is helpful, but I much rather learn from book that is full-colored pages and maybe more precise. O.K. so I rambled on and on and realized that I was not helpful either, but I'm with you and maybe we can learn from each other!

Doubledutchstitch wrote

on Feb 24, 2008 5:02 PM

Take a look at the wonderful website of art of crochet. They have videos for lefties:

http://www.iamintheloop.com/artofcrochet/guides.php

http://artofcrochet.blip.tv/#293742

shill shell shawl.

PaulineL wrote

on Feb 24, 2008 7:19 PM

Off topic - but that shill shell shawl is hard to say but so easy on the eyes. I love it. It's hard to find large, allover, lace patterns in crochet. This is nice.

Andmommymakes5 wrote

on Mar 1, 2008 6:34 AM

Thanks so much for the web site advice! I hadn't found that one! You are right about the shawl it is quite pretty. Good luck with the project. I am going to attempt the tunisian stitch. Found a cute little baby blanket pattern in the Crochet today mag. called pinwheel blankie. I am a bit nervous about starting it but the picture instructions on this site made it look pretty simple. Just have to switch it to the other hand!!! Good luck Jhanamo. I was lucky to find a lefty to teach me personally. If it hadn't been for Cathy I would have neer caught on!

arbor wrote

on Mar 1, 2008 9:25 AM

Happy hooking.x

sister_sestina wrote

on Mar 3, 2008 12:12 PM

I can remember the first crochet book I had (which was passed down from my Nan!) - it showed the basic instructions for crochet stitches, and suggested that if you were left handed then put the book next to a mirror to view the pictures..

So leading on from this - I am contemplating attempting to teach my two oldest nieces to crochet. One is right handed, and the other left handed. That said, the right handed one uses her cutlery back to front (like her left handed Mum), and the left handed niece uses her cutlery the same way as a right handed person. Should be interesting anyway!

Lilian Guyers wrote

on Jun 21, 2009 4:16 AM

If you hold your hook in your left hand, like you use a pen to write, you should not have any problems.

Use a larger hook to practice with, you may find it a lot easier this way.

UK

Elleellee wrote

on Jul 2, 2009 7:35 PM

I'm left-handed, but I learned to crochet from a book, which was for right-handers. So now crocheting is the only thing I can do right-handed. I think that if you're just learning, it's awkward either way, and why not try it right-handed?

strangeseraph wrote

on Jul 3, 2009 11:46 AM

New here too, and I'm also a lefty!

My mother was highly sympathetic to my left handedness, and she and my grandmother painstakingly taught me how to crochet. All you need is somebody willing to show you how its done and a bit of patience so your hand gets used to it.

I actually can do it both ways around. I prefer having the hook in my left hand. :)

~ Jenny ~

strangeseraph wrote

on Jul 3, 2009 11:50 AM

@Jhanamo, Teach Yourself Visually does address lefties on one section, and I found all the visual instructions in that book very easy to do.

~ Jenny ~

lizo9 wrote

on Jul 10, 2009 4:51 AM

im a lefty,and i crochet i dont find it a problem,it could be that ive been crocheting for nearly 45 years, my mums right handed so i used to sit opposite her and watch her crochet,its mirror image.but i knit right handed, i think ,i hold my needle with stitches on in my left hand,hope im making sence,im trying to learn tunisian crochet, now that is a bit hard to grasp, i find it easyer to watch a video and have a mirror angled towards the monitor so i can watch it backwards,

Lilian Guyers wrote

on Jul 10, 2009 11:43 AM

I am a left-handed crocheter!

I remember teaching a right-handed work colleage how to crochet, with my left hand. How to hold the hook and yarn, and how to hold on to the chain beneath the hook, with your right-hand.

Here is what I do; when I begin to crochet, to hold and to control the yarn, to begin the foundation-chain, using my left-hand:

1. Make a slip-knot by wrapping the yarn around your finger to make a loop.

2. Pull the yarn through this loop and thread this loop on to the crochet-hook.

3. Tighten the loop on the crochet-hook, to make the 1st slip-knot/chain, leaving a few inches of yarn end/tail. (Do not pull the yarn too-tight, just enough for you to pull the yarn and crochet-hook through the loop).

4. Hold the crochet-hook like you would hold a pen,pencil/knife/fork, etc., in your left hand, between your thumb and 1st finger.

grasp the slip-knot, beneath the crochet-hook.

6. Whilst keeping hold of the slip-knot beneath the crochet-hook, with the thumb & 2nd finger on your right-hand, wrap the yarn over the 1st finger on your right hand and take the yarn under the 2nd finger and over your 3rd finger, letting go of the working-end of the yarn.

7. You will need to practice holding the crochet-hook in your left-hand and simultaneously, holding the slip-knot and the yarn using your thumb and fingers of your right-hand.

8. To make the 1st chain, holding the crochet-hook in your left-hand between the thumb & 1st finger, like a pen, at the same time holding the slip-knot beneath the crochet-hook, and holding and wrapping the yarn through the thumb & fingers of your right hand.

9. Hold the crochet-hook at an angle with the handle pointing away from the yarn and the hook-end at an angle close to your right-hand thumb. (still keeping hold of the slip-knot beneath the crochet-hook, with your thumb & 2nd finger of right-hand) Swing the crochet-hook backwards, towards the yarn (clock-wise direction) wrap the yarn over the hook and draw the yarn towards the hook-end and gently pull through the loop through the chain, next to the slip-knot. The fingers on your right-hand control the yarn and the tension (gauge) of your chains/stitches/crocheted fabric.

10. Repeat this until you have enough chains to practice with. You will need to practice for a while to get the hang of holding the yarn & hook in this way and to make the chains and to practice controlling the tightness/tension (gauge) of the yarn.

11. Practice making sc, (single crochet) by inserting the crochet-hook, in your left-hand, through a chain and simultaneously, using your right-hand to hold the work and to control the yarn using your thumb and fingers, with your right-hand.

Use a large crochet-hook and some chunky yarn, or by using several yarns together to make a chunkier yarn, to practice the chains. You will be able to see the chains better and use your practice pieces to look at the directions & diagrams that come with the right-handed crochet instructions. The stitches are all the same, only you are working your piece from left to right! It will get easier for you and you will soon be catching up with all of your fellow crocheters, making crocheted garments and getting the wonderful compliments from your friends & family when they see something they like that you have made yourself!

Hoping the above may help you practice holding the crochet-hooks and the yarn. Happy crocheting!

UK

kcrystina wrote

on Jul 26, 2009 7:50 PM

I'm left-handed, however the only thing I do left-handed it write. Everything else I do right-handed. Though I have taught myself how to crochet using both hands. Switching between the two instead of turning makes for quite an interesting pattern, very very similar to knitting actually.

www.kcrystina.com