So I finally learned how to Tunisian crochet.  Well at least the simple stitch.  I wanted to take the beginner class at last year’s Pittsburgh Creative Arts Festival, but the class sold out before I could register.  This year they are not offering a beginner class.  The class is Next Steps in Tunisian Crochet with my favorite instructor, Robyn Chachula.  I have to take this class!

Well, the festival this year is also the same weekend as my mom’s birthday and she wanted to join me this year.  For her birthday present I registered us for three classes.  I convinced her that we should take this class and that we could learn the basics on our own.  lol  The class instructions say that students should know how to chain, single crochet and Tunisian simple stitch.  Well we already know how to chain and single crochet, so how hard can it be to learn simple stitch?  Not so hard actually.

For my birthday my mom bought me this awesome Tunisian crochet hook set.  I already had some basic metal ones, but I like short hooks, so I thought the ones with cords would be better for me.  She also bought me a book that I put on my wish list, Tunisian Crochet from Absolute Beginner to Advanced.  Well, the book started out ok for the foundation row forward pass and return pass, but when it got to the simple stitch instructions there wasn’t enough detail for me to figure out what to do.  There was one picture and I couldn’t figure out where to put the hook?

Well I searched for Tunisian crochet how-tos  online and found a great blog post from Jo-Creates, and hey, I follow her blog too so that worked out well!  I spent one afternoon following her instructions and I was able to make this little swatch.  Not too bad for a quick cram session.  I missed a stitch on one row and realized at one point that my stitch count went down.  I did not go back and fix it; I still need to figure out how to fix mistakes.  So, my class is next Friday and maybe I’ll practice one more time before the class.  Maybe I’ll make a washcloth or something simple.

Anyway, the moral of the story is, Tunisian Crochet is not that hard.  Don’t be intimidated by it.  And if you want to learn, check out Jo-Creates tutorial, Ever Fancied Learning Tunisian Crochet.  The tutorial had the right amount of detail and step my step pictures, which is perfect for me.  Try it!