I’ve been continuing to teach crochet this year at Amble Pin Cushion, developing new courses and honing my skills as a tutor.
It was workshop day last Thursday, teaching 10 participants over 2 sessions. I teach a maximum of 6 people per session. It’s about the right number for the room I use but I also want to ensure that everyone gets the tuition they need,, and avoid spreading myself too thinly. I limit the sessions to 2 hours at a time.. Teaching can be quite intensive and I don’t want to run out of steam!
We were making the classic granny square, so called (I think) because our grandmothers and those before them were the queens of recycling and ‘make-do and mend”. Nothing was wasted out of a need to be frugal. These crocheted squares were the perfect way to use up scraps of yarn left over from other projects or unravelled old and unwearable jumpers. The squares could then be joined up to make colourful blankets and other useful items. Granny square garments are now gaining popularity as much for their looks as their sustainability.
I did enjoy Thursday – both groups were an absolute pleasure to meet and to teach…. and from far and wide too, with one crocheter from Australia (now living locally) and another who has local connections but was visiting from the USA , where she now lives.
There was a range of abilities too, from complete beginners, those needing a bit of a “refresher course” and one experienced crocheter who wanted do her homework to prepare for an imminent big Granny Square project.
I was really proud of the progress they all made in just 2 hours. They went away with full instructions to complete their granny square and make more, how to join them together and some helpful tips and tricks, along with a yarn pack to practice at home. I wonder if they’ll get hooked on crochet!
One of my new workshops this year is “Crochet for Absolute Beginners” This came about following a conversation with another crochet tutor. We agreed that describing a workshop as “suitable for beginners” covers a pretty broad range of abilities, from true beginners with zero experience to those that are pretty good at the craft, but are either not very confident or they haven’t picked up a crochet hook in some time. I began crocheting when I was about 8 years old, taught by my grandmother and when you’ve been doing it that long you take some of the skills involved for granted. It’s all too easy to assume that others will have some basic knowledge.
That’s why this workshop was developed: for people who have never picked up a crochet hook – nothing is assumed! It really is back to basics and though participants may get as far as making a bookmark, there is no pressure to complete anything in the session.
As well as some basic stitches we cover the principles of holding the wool and hook, to maintain tension and control the hook efficiently. I feel very strongly that there is no set way of holding your work, wool and hook as long as you can stick to those basic principles. After all, everyone’s hands are different: left or right- handed, large or small, with long or short fingers, maybe some joint stiffness or other impairment. I try to work with my students to find the best hold for them. I’ve also recently begun to develop some new hand outs for left-handed participants – I tried them out for the first time last week in the Granny Square workshops and they seemed to work well.
I have run the Absolute Beginners workshop a few times now and it’s going really well, but there’s always room for improvement. I ask everyone to complete a very short anonymous evaluation at the end of each session. It’s good to get feedback so I can improve what I do and get ideas for future workshops. A left-handed participant on one of the first Absolute Beginners sessions inspired me to develop the LH specific handouts I used for last week’s Granny Squares.
I think it’s important to have fun too. Enjoyment is important for its own sake, but it turns out that it also helps people relax and stops their crochet becoming too tight!
One particularly enjoyable session included a husband and wife. He had bought her a crochet kit as a gift and he suggested that it would help her learn to use if she did a workshop and she agreed, but only on the condition that he came along to. They both did well, but he was exceptional. producing some really beautiful skilled crochet work Then, he confessed. After they booked on, he had been watching You Tube tutorial videos on the quiet and practicing in secret! No wonder he’d got so good!
Do you have any funny crochet-related stories to share. I’d love to hear them
STOP PRESS
I’ve just added an extra Absolute Beginners Session to run on Saturday 4th October from 10.30 to 12.30pm. (The one on Thursday 25th is now full, but please check for cancellation).
Stitches by the Sea 