Tips for Teaching Children to Crochet

If you think back to when you first started learning a new skill, you might be just a little hesitant to want to teach your kids to crochet. It can be really frustrating to learn something new! But it’s so worth the effort. Children can really benefit from learning a hands-on skill like knitting, crochet or woodworking.

My homeschool blogger friend Shannen over at Middleway Mom generously shared this picture of her daughter learning to knit.

Handicraft skills encourage creative thinking and teach self-sufficiency. There is so much joy in that “I made this!” moment. Plus, it’s not always easy being a kid. They need hobbies and meditative stress busters too.

I’m sharing with you some tips to help make teaching children crochet easier. You can easily apply the same tips to teaching children how to knit.

Tips for Teaching Children to Crochet

Be patient with the child
Maybe learning to crochet was super easy for you, but if it wasn’t you probably remember there were times where you just wanted to cry. Your kids might actually cry, well hopefully not if you are patient with them, but no guarantees. Your child might be excited to learn and then realize it’s not going to come naturally and become frustrated. Remind them to breathe, try again and if needed come back to it later.

Take breaks
Practicing a brand new skill every day is actually counterproductive. Since neurological development is not linear, there needs to be a break for new neural tracks to grow. Two days on, one day off might be a good schedule to follow.

Use a big hook and the right yarn

A big hook is a good crochet hook for beginners and easier for a child to hold and see what is going on. My son likes to use a Q crochet hook. Other sizes like a K, P, or N hook would work well too, like this set of 3.

Use simple, light-colored, bulky or super bulky weight yarn. Avoid any yarn that would make it difficult to see the stitches. Knobby yarn (bolchy), variegated yarn, dark colors will all make it hard to discern stitch definition. Since your child will probably be frogging a lot, avoid any yarn that will felt like wool that is not superwash. Any yarn that is splitty – strands not spun together – is probably a bad idea. Something like Chunky Wool-Ease in a light color would make a good first practice yarn.

Be patient with yourself
Recognize that you might not be a great teacher (yet!). This is something that homeschooling has taught me. Sometimes what you are teaching, whether it’s math, reading or crochet, is so natural to you it’s hard to explain exactly how to do it. If you or your student is getting frustrated, take a break. When you’re ready to tackle crochet again, YouTube is your friend. There are lots of beginner crochet videos that go nice and slow that you can watch with your child or let them explore on their own.

Pay attention to handedness
If a child is left-handed, give them left-handed crochet instructions. Many designers are now publishing their patterns with pictures or videos that show both right-handed and left-handed directions. Please don’t force them to use their right hand or left hand if that is not their dominant hand.

Keep it Simple
The first crochet project for a child should be very simple like a washcloth or a doll blanket (like this one). One thing at a time; don’t worry about trying to teach gauge or evenness at first. Praise all attempts and overlook mistakes.

Have fun
This really is the most important part! Enjoy your time sharing your hobby with your child. Maybe they will like crocheting and maybe they won’t, but the most important thing is to keep it fun.

Like this post? You can grab this image to share to Pinterest or repin here.

I hope these tips have helped you share crochet with your little one. Please share in the comments how teaching crochet is going for you or if you have any other tips to share.

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