New to site - Afghan help needed

[guikrazy]

Hello Everyone!!

I haven't crocheted in years, really decades! I have, however, become addicted to rainbow looming, mainly because it reminds me of crocheting, so I want to get back into crocheting. This fall I want to make an afghan, a nice colorful one.

The thing though is that I don't remember anything about the specifics of crocheting. What are the little things I should know as a "beginner"? What are the different types of yarn? Are some better than others for beginners? The stitches, the hooks, the patterns? Good sites for beginners? I don't want to spend money buying the wrong items or items I won't really use or like. Which yarns are good for blankets? Which aren't? About how long does it take to make a queen-sized blanket?

I REALLY like this pattern, but wonder if it too hard to start with.



Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

[Gillygaloo]

If you do not remember anything about crocheting, then this may be a little ambitious of a pattern to start with! You are like me... I do things like that too.... dive head first. Why don't you warm up your crocheting skills by making something a little easier first.. i.e. perhaps a couple of wash cloths or place matts. Have fun, no matter what!

[Pixieglitter]

Hello and welcome to our group!

I think this owl blanket might be a little too complicated to start out with. For a new beginner, I suggest you buy basic Red Heart acrylic yarn, worsted weight 4 ply. Your pattern will list the hook size and it should tell you how many yards of yarn you'll need. Red Heart is only a few dollars a skein and is easy to work with. You can buy it at Walmart. Pick a pretty color that you'll enjoy working with.

Instead of making a queen size blanket - which could take you weeks or even months to finish - maybe you could start by making a smaller lapghan, prayer shawl or a scarf? I would choose a basic pattern, nothing too complicated to start out with. If you jump right in you may get frustrated and give up - and then you'd miss out on the fun of crocheting!

There are tons of free patterns online. A good site is AllFreeCrochet.com - Free Crochet Patterns, Crochet Projects, Tips, Video, How-To Crochet and More

Let us know how you're doing!

Shelley

[Polishgirl]

Hello Everyone!!

I haven't crocheted in years, really decades! I have, however, become addicted to rainbow looming, mainly because it reminds me of crocheting, so I want to get back into crocheting. This fall I want to make an afghan, a nice colorful one.

The thing though is that I don't remember anything about the specifics of crocheting. What are the little things I should know as a "beginner"? What are the different types of yarn? Are some better than others for beginners? The stitches, the hooks, the patterns? Good sites for beginners? I don't want to spend money buying the wrong items or items I won't really use or like. Which yarns are good for blankets? Which aren't? About how long does it take to make a queen-sized blanket?

I REALLY like this pattern, but wonder if it too hard to start with.



Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

That is a very beautiful afghan and VERY time consuming...
To answer your question: "About how long does it take to make a queen-sized"?. I don't thing there is an answer for that. Because it all depends on the design and skills of that crocheter. It could take a couple weeks, months or even years..in some cases LOL.

I really like that owl blanket. But, I would never attempt to crochet anything like that. I just do not have that much patients!. I need to move on from one project to another in a matter of couple days or hours. I do get bored very quickly. And I do not like to crochet same thing over & over. Crocheting same two hats, scarf's, blanket's when my granddaughters were younger, that was big enough punishment for me! LOL.
Krys

[DebbyR]

Hi and welcome, I agree with the others just start out simple. And red heart is the only yarn I have used so far eventually I will get into the others.
Huggers
Debby

[Texas transplant]

Quikrazy, I am like the others, the owl blanket is very nice and I wish I had the patience to do one like that. But it is not something to start on. Most yarns have a number on it. Regular yarn is a 4 , baby yarn usually has a 3 on it and anything under that is either considered sock yarn or lace yarn. Most of the cotton used for dishcloths or washcloths is cotton Like Peaches and cream Sock yarn is usually multi corored and some of that has elastic in it. For crocheting it is hard to keep a good even tension. Bulky yarn goes up , like 5 or 6. I haven't seen much over that I have made a bunch of hats with that and enjoyed making them. I am making a baby blanket right now with baby yarn for a great grandson due next week. it is in the 100's down here right now so it doesn't need to be real heavy Right now wool yarn is very popular, I start itching when I use it so I check the yarn to see if it is all acrilik or cotton. This is some of the things to start you out again. Hope you have fun, crocheting can be very relaxing Let us know if we can help in any way. Margaret.

[LI Roe]

I agree, while the blanket is absolutely adorable, it may be a little challenging to start with and the last thing you want to do is get discouraged. I would start with small projects, using worsted weight yarn (#4) and maybe a simple scarf, small lap robe or afghan. Dishcloths are good too, you can experiment with different stitch patterns on any of these projects. You will then get used to tension, gauge and it will all fall into place. I would suggest using an I or J hook to start (smaller hooks may cause tighter stitches and may frustrate you. But that is how we all started out.

The important thing is to have fun and you will do just fine.

Roe

[Crochet]

I did found youtube owl blanket/Afghan in simple crochet

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nkbA6wBMecU

[Polishgirl]

Talking about owl afghans. Now, this one is very cute for kids. But, again would require a lot of work. Not as much as the on top of this page, but still.. And that can't be done in a week!

Happy Owl Afghan and Ami Pattern
Krys

[guikrazy]

You all are AWESOME!! Thank you So Much for all the info!! I'm tired right now so I'll be back to write more later.

Thanks again!!!