All Stitched Up

Can you remember distinctly the feeling of the first day of a new job? There’s an intensity that lingers in the air that only you can feel – like a personal fog that clings to your skin. You’re hesitant to converse with your new co-workers, worried that you’ll say something they don’t know how to respond to. That eerie feeling is the exact experience I had when walking into Fabricland to buy some yarn for my learning project. Entering the store felt like a type of immersion therapy where I was rapidly flashed with fabrics of different colours, patterns, and cuts. I walked quickly to a sign hanging from the ceiling that read “Yarn and Sewing.” I assumed this was where I could find what I needed for my assignment. When I got there, I was reminded just how out of my depth I was by the plethora of selections. There were yarns with sparkly tinsel entwined with them, multicoloured yarns, and yarns big enough to wear as scarves themselves. However, I knew enough from my failed experience before to make a better choice. One of the mistakes I made before was getting a yarn that was far too big in diameter and in a hard-to-distinguish colour. With that in mind, I chose a light blue coloured yarn about half a centimetre in diameter. With my selection in hand, I scurried over to the counter to make my purchase and an elderly lady who looked like she knew what journey I was about to go on rang me through the till.

Finally, I got home and sat down at my desk to get my hands to work. Only then did I realize that I only had a faint remembrance of what I was meant to do. I could recall that I needed to make some sort of knot to begin crocheting, but that’s where my knowledge ended. Prompted by this lack of direction, I scoured the web for what I thought was a good place to start – “simple beginner stitches for crochet”. That was when I stumbled upon this article by Sarah Stearns. I would say that I got about a quarter of the way through the article before I realized that I may have misunderstood that there are basics that exist before basic stitches. Luckily, I found an article by the same creator about how to make a slip knot. This was the very first step when it comes to crocheting. The article was very good in detailing different methods to forming this knot; however, this wasn’t at all what I remembered doing in the past. After a bit more searching, I finally found the video that I watched a while back from Bella Coco that I learned the most comfortable technique from.

The first method mentioned in the video is what I became familiar with. Below is the process, in pictures  that I followed to successfully replicate the knot – forgive me for the horrible lighting.

Now that I had the slip knot nailed down, I was ready to tackle the next basic skill: chain stitching. Similar to forming a slip knot, there was a faint muscle memory that lingered, but I needed a reminder of what the stitch looked like. As such, I went back to YouTube where I found this very helpful video from Craftsy:

After a bit more review of what I once knew. I was able to figure out the proper hand posture and the technique of chain stitching; however, it the technique didn’t come naturally to me as I hoped. At times I would have this chain of stitches that were twisty and hard to distinguish. In other cases, I would have loops of thread only loosely connected. After adjusting the tension of the yarn, I was able to make a chain that I was satisfied with. Below is a slideshow of the progression of my chains as I adjusted my technique.

This is where I decided to end my first week of my learning project. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but if you read my first post, you’ll understand the significance of the work I’ve done here. One thing that I can take away from this experience is that I need to stop comparing my work to that of others. I consistently rate my performance of all aspects of my life in comparison to others and it’s an unhealthy habit that causes me to discredit my efforts. As such, I am proud of the work that I put in and I hope to say that every week. See you next time!