Crochet has got to be one of the most ingenious crafts ever devised. For a start, materials are minimal. You only need a hook and yarn.

Crochet is totally portable. Vary the size of hook and yarn and you can produce sturdy fabrics that will stand up to everyday wear like rugs and clothing to gorgeous fine lace type fabrics for special clothing and home décor.

The other remarkable thing about crochet is the sheer speed at which you can make your products. You see results very quickly.

Based on a very simple stitch system, you can make fabrics that look really detailed and complicated.

The materials needed are yarn, a crochet needle of the correct size for what is being made, scissors, and a pattern. There are many stitches used in crocheting. The chain stitch makes the starting chain in most patterns and can also be used as part of the design. The most popular stitches are the single crochet and double crochet stitches. The slipstitch is used to join crocheted squares. Other stitches include the half double crochet, treble or triple, shell, block, picot, cross, cluster, knot, and popcorn stitches.

Crocheting samples are found in 16th century France, England, Italy, Arabia, Tibet, Spain, and South America. By the 1700’s, China used tambouring, a form of embroidery, and introduced it in Europe. Crochet hooks, made of fishbone, ivory, brass, wood, and silver spoons were often wedding gifts. Crocheting was once only for the rich to decorate their homes.

The rich felt that knitting was better suited for the poor to make socks and clothes. Women were taught crocheting in school in the early 1800’s to the 1900’s. In the 1800’s, instructions and patterns became available in magazines and books.

A fantastic place to start your crochet journey is by making motifs which you can then fashion into rugs and blankets.

Some resources about crochet to get you started.

 Image attributed with thanks to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mccordworks/3410242494/ CC BY-SA 2.0