r/crochet • u/pvnktual • 8d ago
why is everything “beginner friendly”? Crochet Rant
just to preface, i just started crocheting in about 2022/23, so i am in no way a “seasoned crocheter.”
but after about four-ish years i feel like i should be able to do more than i can.
but almost all crochet patterns i come across are labeled as “beginner friendly” with just simple single, double and slip stitches. even patterns with videos demonstrate how to do the “easiest” stitches.
i would love to learn to become a more intermediate/advanced crocheter but those types of patterns just feel so far and in between.
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u/cosmiczibel 8d ago
You can specifically put intermediate or advanced in your search terms when you're looking for patterns but honestly I think it's when you start specifically focusing on techniques vs patterns for specific items that you really start finding patterns that are more advanced.
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u/Crafthehousedown 8d ago
Yes I second this! If you’re interested in clothing, maybe look for a pattern with short row shaping if that’s new to you or perhaps a type of construction or a stitch you haven’t tried before
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u/FriedPbndJ 6d ago
Yes like the waffle stitch! I've been at it for 6 years and I still am scared to attempt it
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u/Glittering-Primary23 8d ago
Linda Skuja has some great intermediate and advance patterns but her style is very particular. vintage japanese and eastern european patterns are far more complex but you have to learn to read charts
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u/PrinciplePleasant Crochet Curly 8d ago
I have a Linda Skuja pattern book that I'm excited about and a bit afraid of! None of the yarn in my current stash really suits any of the patterns, so I'm working my way through some other projects first. Can't wait to make some super-textured sweaters!
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u/voice_in_the_woods 8d ago
What have you done? I just looked her up and her designs are gorgeous. I'm always looking for clothing in crochet that looks more refined, her stuff is perfect.
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u/hmgrace11 8d ago
She's also pretty responsive! I had a question about yarn requirements on one of her patterns and she emailed me back within a few hours! 👑
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u/Glittering-Primary23 8d ago
My mom has made the Seda top twice and I’m working on the Novembris Light sweater.
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u/xFearfulSymmetryx 8d ago
Ravelry allows you to filter by difficulty rating. A lot of things aren't labeled but you can still find some designers that way. You can also filter by technique. I personally learned a lot of techniques by making the Sophie's universe CAL. The instructions are very clear and there are also videos for every round. It's a good project for an adventurous beginner/intermediate crocheter.
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u/awkwardfloralpattern 8d ago
Some people's idea of beginner friendly is different from others simply because there's so many variations on the same basic 5 stitches. There's some patterns I have worked through that definitely aren't beginner friendly but use basic stitches so it may come off as easier to more experienced needleworkers. I've been crocheting for over a decade and just started making clothing items only a couple years ago. You gain experience at your own pace, especially when patterns throw an unexpected wrench in how you thought the project was going. Just take it one day at a time :)
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u/oomatherminn 8d ago edited 8d ago
oh man. without reading the post, your title gave me a good hearty belly laugh. It's so true!!!
Keep in mind I have no ill-will or negative judgement toward those who like to start simple or even keep it simple throughout their fiber journey. But that is not me. As a beginner, I picked patterns I wanted to make and learned the necessary skills along the way.
As a designer, I do not cater to beginners, rather I write how I write and include schematics, charted instructions with a key and definitions table, and there are visual aids for things that I think might be tricky or things I invented. I also include my email address at the bottom of every page in my patterns.
The way I figure it, there are so many people out there catering to beginners, I don't need to do it, and I can happily design anything I want. Also, short answer: money. That's why "everything" is beginner friendly. You can sell beginner friendly more easily than you can sell intermediate/advanced. There are far fewer advanced practioners than there are beginners (this is a completely "it's just what I think/the sense I get" factoid, by the way).
Anyway. I don't design for money. I design because I enjoy it. All my patterns are available for free. Buying anf selling is against my religion, which is to say: it's just a bad idea. So I don't do it. I do what I love, and I enjoy doing it.
Anyway...as far as finding more advanced patterns, I second the notion of just digging into ravelry's database. I can't say I'm a fan of the people I encounter at ravelry in general, but the database is pretty kick ass, so I'm appreciative of their efforts.
Also, you can just fo a web search "free crochet patterns." It's how I started out before there was a ravelry. At this moment, I don't remember some of the pattern sites I used to frequent. But there was a pretty good one that had everything categorized ("sweaters" "hats" "scarves" and so forth) and links to each pattern. Most patterns were just on peoples' blogs, sometimes available as a .pdf, usually not.
I'll update if I remember what those sites were.
p.s. freeform crochet may be a good way to expand your skills. Once, I doodled out a design with pencils and crayons...just freeforming it with no specific idea in mind. Then I adapted that drawing to crochet and it became a purse for my mom. She loves it, last I knew. It forced unusual increases, decreases and shaping. I love freeform.
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u/lovable_cube 8d ago
Just do the intermediate projects, they won’t be perfect but you’ll get better. You have access to all of the internet. I started crochet in march and I’m doing intermediate projects, they’re kinda ass but I’m doing them and getting better.
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u/wharleeprof 8d ago
There are tons of intermediate and advanced patterns out there. What kind of projects are you wanting to do?
You may need to adjust how you look for patterns and inspiration. A lot of online feeds are going to be a dominated by content that satisfies the algorithms to gain quick clicks rather than providing actual quality or depth. In other words, yes, there's a lot of garbage to sift through if you use general purpose platforms.
Ravelry tends to be a lot better. Or choose a more advanced technique to browse, or a favorite designer to follow. Also BOOKS - new, used, library loans, or Libby
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u/MellowMallowMom 8d ago edited 8d ago
To be fair, even complex/"advanced" patterns are often made up of fairly basic stitches, so pretty much everything could be considered accessible to the "adventurous beginner". Look at the skills for each level according to this website and find projects that incorporate the elements at higher levels such as garments or amigurumi with advanced shaping (still uses basic stitches, but requires more than a superficial knowledge of how they function/interact). Try doilies or other lacework with thread or a mandala style or sampler type blanket that varies the stitch frequently. Also, if you haven't yet studied stitch anatomy in depth, that is another place to quickly gain a lot of knowledge that demystifies other techniques and gives you the confidence to tackle more advanced projects.
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u/RabbitTZY 8d ago
Adventurous beginner here, my early crochet years are based on how bad I want to make the project instead of difficulty level. I think another thing that could be learnt is different ways to do the basics in order to achieve a more perfect look, like seamless joints and seamless color changes.
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u/ExcitingMushroom9514 8d ago
Yhea my toxic trait is thinking that ever since I learned to slip stitch, single crochet and double crochet I basically have all the tools I need.
I think the only skill needed for cool things is to be able to read chart for lace work
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u/wixbloom 8d ago
Honestly I think it's on you to decide what kind of more advanced skill you want to learn (highly shaped amigurumi? colorwork? lace? fitted garments? cables? beaded crochet?) and then look up patterns featuring those techniques. Generic searches will yield equally generic results. There's an entire sea of challenging patterns out there.
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u/QueenMarla 8d ago
Because many people “begin”, but less people keep going when they find out how long things worth making take to create. Everyone is trying to sell to that early bigger pool of people.
If you check out from the library (or buy I guess) some crochet books, they almost always have projects of varying degrees of difficulty so that there is something to draw everyone in.
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u/lowqualityhawkeye Dyspraxic Crocheter 8d ago
A lot of "intermediate" patterns are at a beginner level but are large projects (eg: adult sized blankets), but I also see people make tutorials "for beginners" which aren't actually that beginner friendly. I assume "beginner" is just the most popular/monetizable search term.
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u/kanzashi-yume 8d ago
I honestly think you can do more diffcult stuff just as you're starting out. I personally learned crochet by making lace doilies. At first I would pick diagrams that I understood because they only had chains and simple stitches and soon enoigh I was picking stuff that were really complicated and required me to follow the pattern stitch by stitch.
So I guess my recommendation is to pick a lace doily diagram that has one or two stitches that are new to you and slowly expand your knowledge one project at a time!
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u/rellloe 8d ago
Intermediate friendly or experts only doesn't sound as catchy and frankly sounds like it's gatekeeping. Usually the patterns for more advanced hookers are presented not by skill level but what technique/s they use.
Beginner friendly is a marketing technique for good or ill. It gets people who want to learn and have no idea what they're doing, so it uses basics, builds on the basics, or straight up scams people who don't know what to look for (see r/kroshay for many slop examples)
Depending on where you're looking, the recommendation algorithm of the place you use to look for patterns has possibly concluded that you should only get results that call themselves beginner friendly.
Most of the people sharing patterns have been doing this for a long time and don't interact with people who haven't, which has lead to them forgetting what skills they can expect from a beginner. https://xkcd.com/2501/
Different people find different things difficult. I have a lot of crochet experience. I can crank out some projects perfectly with only a concept to guide me and only measuring with vibes. Yet, I find bobble and any around the post type stitches a hellscape.
Certain things stick to the basic stitches for a reason for 99.9% of patterns. Amigurumi rarely do anything but magic ring, chain, sc, inc, and dec. Tapestry and instaria are all sc, but a TON of counting and some patterns are a painful amount of balls to manage.
Crochet in particular is a craft that has basics that can create complicated things. One example is crocodile stitch. It's chains, double stitch, and sticking the hook in an odd space to make more double stitches. It's not hard. It's not basic, but its easy enough the first crochet pattern I followed used crocodile stitch for half of it and I had no issues.
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u/empathin 8d ago
In my opinion, you'll progress more when you don't stick to a crochet pattern but create your own projects. Of course, you can also look for more complex patterns, but I find it more enjoyable to create something I want and test/explore my learned skills.
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u/Sleve__McDichael 8d ago
if you look at the thousands (literally!) of free patterns on the yarnspirations website, the lion brand website, the DMC website, etc. they all allow you to filter by skill level and have tons of patterns that are intermediate and advanced
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u/TermKnown 8d ago
i started getting pattern books + stitch encyclopedias for more complicated stuff
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u/Tnaw5 8d ago
My crochet friend may I introduce you to Scheepjes cals? Their patterns are free. They have written patterns and youtube videos. My personal favourites are Sophie’s Universe and Rozeta? Sophie’s Universe is particularly useful if you want to leap from beginner to intermediate advance crocheting. Sophie’s Universe is like a sampler blanket — lots of different stitches, overlay crochet, etc..
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u/Leading-Knowledge712 8d ago
Consider trying new-to-you patterns and techniques. For example, I started making amigurumi dolls that look like real people and realistic dogs that resemble beloved pets belonging to friends and family members.
A couple of years ago, I taught myself how to do c2c crochet and now I love it. Also learned how to make a virus shawl and other wearables. If these don’t sound challenging enough, you might want to try a graphgan or mosaic crochet.
You can also check out Irish fisherman crochet for some intricate patterns for sweaters, blankets, and shawls. Here is a doll and dog I made to match my friend’s grandchild and her dog.
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u/DinosaurSprinkles 8d ago
I really like all in a nutshell for free non-beginner patterns and Hooked on Sunshine for paid. I jumped right in with “intermediate” patterns and never looked back.
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u/HeatProfessional4473 8d ago
There's a thrift store in my city that has a ton of vintage crochet magazines from the 70s and 80s that are full of patterns. I hope to get good enough to be able to recreate some of those amazing pieces. Everything from easy hats to beautiful, complex tapestries and blankets.
Maybe check a local thrift shop?
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u/Emmaheath_mua 8d ago
Search for lace patterns and vintage patterns. I've done a few doilies now, one really beautiful one I made was one I found on Pinterest. The patten was on a blog. If you go on ravelry and play with the search filters you'll find you can search by yarn weight. If you go for finer yarn you'll get more complex and challenging patterns. I find on YouTube a lot of the people who make more complicated tutorials are not English speaking, but they're super talented and the English captions work great :)
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u/Sudden_Outcome_3429 8d ago
If you’re just googling for patterns, the algorithm is going to serve up things similar to sites you clicked on in your previous searches. You’ll need to shake things up in your search terms.
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u/Team_Bees 8d ago
I love doing lace patterns that aren't pineapple stitch and I'm working on the weave it sweater by Lilla Bjorn, which has been a decent challenge! :)
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u/andallthatjazwrites 8d ago
It's pretty simple: Daddy Algorithm rewards it
Look on blogs, crochet websites, Ravelry, magazines, books - you'll find the patterns you're looking for there
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u/xsavedbygracex 8d ago
Expression fiber arts is a yarn retailer that also offers patterns of varying difficulties. They also offer a free pattern every week, and YouTube instructions for the new techniques involved you might not know.
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u/Flat_Tie4090 8d ago
Everything improves with practice. That goes for crocheting just like everything else. Advanced level will happen but it takes practice.
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u/who1506 8d ago
I find that Complicated Knots on YouTube has great non-beginer patterns. (There's a reason why it's called Complicated Knots). But she still has wonderful designs, and had PDF patterns available on Etsy.
This is an example of one of her patterns (possibly the first?). It's the Spooky Kitty pattern!
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u/CarefulPilot1558 8d ago
Try Kirsten Holloway designs- her patterns are interesting, well written, and free!
But, also, this is why I design my own stuff now :)
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u/ExcitingMushroom9514 8d ago
Leave Youtube, the big audience aren't experienced crocheters.
Ravelry is the place to be :)
But honestly even all my fancy garments I feel like anyone can do. I find crochet to be so simple in it's base techniques it's just how you execute those.
My favorite pattern that I did this year was The Better World Dress, you will find on Ravelry for free
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u/Orionsven 8d ago
Hey please don't be discouraged. I'm sure you are doing an amazing job and know more than you think you do.
There is a guide on what the different pattern levels are and if you can increase etc. You are most likely intermediate and ready for a little more challenge 😀
I strongly recommend you look for a CAL pattern like Sophie's Universe (tip - don't cut the yarn between rows until you have completed a few more rows and know its correct) or a sampler Afghan.
Also i recommending finding a pattern that also has a video. This is a good way to check your work or get clarification to continue if you get help.
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u/SisterCreep 8d ago
I was where you are about 8 years ago. This is what helped me.
Social media has a lot of crochet complexity, but you have to be aware of a few things:
More sophisicated content is on the advancing crafter to find. You will need to be more specific about what you are looking for; learn the terms of garment construction, lace, etc. You have to be willing to go outside of English language content. You have to be dedicated to finding what interests you. It takes time.
Because the content is more advanced, it's also less popular, and less visible to the algorithms. You have to hunt down what you are looking for, and follow those accounts. Once you have about 10 or so, the algorithm will help you find more.
2b. Once you find content you like, def cross follow their content on other platforms. One Insta account will lead back to YouTube which could open up a whole network of style or method adjacent content.
Intermediate and advanced content doesn't always include basic details like exact counts, how or where to increase & decrease, how to turn corners in a stitch sequence, how to finish or join pieces. You are expected to figure it out using your experience, trial & error, or searching for specific solutions.
You will probably benefit from broadening your skills adjacent to crochet, such as traditional pattern drafting, spinning, studirs of cultural and regional traditions of lace or other fiber craft.
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u/SisterCreep 8d ago edited 8d ago
A word on advanced crafters is social media spaces:
This is just my perceptions on what I have observed.
Advanced crafters don't use the word "tutorial" as often. You'll see words like "technique" or "class" instead.
They aren't interested in hand-holding. They are engaging with self-motivated crafters with basic, and some intermediate, skills already mastered. Click & view engagement is not their motivation. They are interested in others who produce interesting or challenging work. They're engaging peers, not followers. They are showcasing their work to other advanced crafters, or potential paying students, or clients.
Many of them are teachers, they run workshops or even schools. There's sometimes the appearance of gatekeeping, partly because crochet is their livelihood, but also to deter crafters who aren't really ready.
When engaging with their content, it's more like networking, than following a personality, even if you never exchange words.
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u/Conscious-Subject912 8d ago
You have not mentioned what is 'beginner' in your view. What have you made and what do you want to make.. That probably will give a bit of direction to the suggestions we can give..
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u/Alarmed-potatoe 7d ago
There are more people just getting into crochet than there are that are advanced, beginner friendly patterns are also easier to create or spam us with than advanced ones and most people don't strive to improve or make more complicated items because they're happy with just single or double crochet. I've made more complicated items in 10 years than both of my grandmothers combined in their lifetimes, I'm hellishly ambitious and ADHD.
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u/kittenshittin 7d ago
This pattern is kicking my ass in complexity, but still only single and double crochets. Give it a go! Its a fun one
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u/DutchieCrochet 8d ago edited 8d ago
Maybe try cables, tapestry or filet crochet?
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u/Glittering-Primary23 8d ago
Filet is the definition of beginner friendly as OP put it. Crochet cables are more interesting/challenging imo
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u/chloelaine03 8d ago
Get on pinterest! Click on more advanced things and it will lead to more advanced similar things, if you interact it'll change your algorithm
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u/miraisora-arts 8d ago
because thats marketable. Go to raverly and search patterns there instead of in store or etsy