So now you have your supplies and you’re all set to go. But what are you going to make? Sure, you’ll have to make some practice swatches and play around with stitches but I think it’s a good idea to have a couple patterns queued up for when you’re ready. It gives you something to aim for while you go through the first (sometimes frustrating) steps. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can catch on and follow your first pattern.
Here’s a quick guide to where to find patterns. I’ll go through reading patterns in a subsequent entry (I just ate a large piece of cake and the sugar rush will end soon, so I have to keep this one short!)
I’ll be continuously updating this post and the other pattern post when I find new resources!
A note first – if you’ve seen pictures of the projects I’ve done, most of them are in the Amigurumi style. I’ll talk more about the style in a future post but if you want to do projects like this, include “amigurumi” in your search.
Your number one knitting and crocheting resource online is Ravelry. The whole site is members-only but its free to sign up so go register now! Ravelry is incredibly useful. From forums to yarn reviews, you can waste spend a lot of time on there.
The most useful portion of the site is the Patterns tab. From here you can search or browse through the ridiculously large number of patterns for all sorts of projects. Use the advanced search feature to narrow down categories to find exactly what you want or browse to find something you didn’t know you were looking for. Many patterns on Ravelry are free (you can specify that you want to see only free results) but others are available for purchase.
Once you find a pattern you like, you can then see the average difficulty rating, pictures of the finished project from the person who posted the pattern and others who have tried it and uploaded their own (click on Projects), comments and blog posts about the pattern. You can print them or add them to your “queue” so you can quickly find them the next time you sign in.
Crochet Poet’s Pattern Collection is another resource for a huge number of patterns. Wait for the full page to load and use the Ctrl+f function to find what you’re looking for.
Lion Brand and Berroco yarn offer many knitting and crocheting patterns for free on their websites.
Crochet Pattern Central is just what it sounds like. I haven’t had a chance to really look through these but there’s probably some good stuff on there.
Crochet Me offers a directory of patterns.
The forum on Craftster lists a bunch of patterns by members.
Roxycraft has posted a few free patterns along with some really cute ones for sale.
If you’re not familiar with Etsy, you should be!! Go look around, support handmade products! Many crocheters on Etsy sell their patterns, especially for Amigurumi.
I’ll provide links to patterns when I post finished products as often as possible, and more links when I find them!
If you’re looking for patterns offline, check out your local yarn or general craft store. They will usually have a book section that you can look through.
Now you have your supplies and your patterns.
Coming Up: “Yes, Molly, I have this pattern…but how the heck do I read it?” and “What do you MEAN half double crochet???” etc.
