To avoid having stiff crochet fabric, try using a crochet hook that is a size larger than the suggested size on the yarn label, especially if you are using a single crochet stitch. Make sure that your gauge is still accurate, if it needs to match a particular gauge for a pattern.
How to make a center pull ball: begin by wrapping yarn around two or three fingers, making sure to have the end of the yarn extending out past your finger tips. Continue wrapping until it becomes a little awkward, again making sure that the yarn end is visible from the center (this will make it easier to find later). Remove your fingers from the center of the small ball of yarn and continue to wind around the outside of the ball. When you reach the end of skein/hank, tuck the end of the yarn that is on the outside into some of the strands on the ball.
When traveling, a large size travel coffee cup (ie. Venti size Starbucks cup) works great for keeping your yarn for a small project. Thread the end of the yarn out through the opening in the lid, and your yarn will stay neat and tidy while on the go.
Easy, less awkward version of magic circle: begin with a chain 2. Work your first round of stitches into the 2nd chain from the hook and then pull the yarn tail to tighten. This closes the gap in the center of the stitches and leaves a nice, neat ring of stitches.
When you are making a finished item for someone, always keep record of all of the important information. This could include the yarn brand/name, the color #, how much yarn you used, hook size, the pattern name and where you can find it or keep it, the size that you made, who it was for, and even the date. If possible, get a picture of the finished item to keep with those records. The next time you want to make that item for someone, or yourself, you will have all of the specific details.
Travel toothbrush holders, pencil cases, small makeup bags, and eyeglass cases make great travel storage for crochet hooks, tools, and accessories.
Whether you are crocheting or knitting, always weave your ends in on a diagonal. Never go straight up or straight down.
If you don’t like a chain 3 that counts as a double crochet at the beginning of rounds for a hat, you can make an extended double crochet instead. Join the round, pull the loop up a little higher than normal, and work a double crochet stitch as usual. Since the chain 3 is a way of bringing the yarn up to the proper height, extending that loop can do that job instead.
To avoid the unsightly knot that you can sometimes get when you fasten off at the end of a project, avoid cutting the yarn and pulling the end through the last loop of the last stitch. Instead, work the last stitch, cut your yarn, and then pull the end of the yarn completely out of the last stitch. The last stitch will still be secured, but you will not have a knot. Weave in your end.
If you tend to work on large projects, always keep a small quick project around too, so that you don’t get bored and burnt out on the larger ones. Plus, they are great for travel!
When changing colors during a project:
One: Always begin the new yarn color on the last step, of the last stitch, before the new color should start.
Two: If you are changing colors after every row, or two, or even a few, leave the old color attached. When it is time to work that color again, loosely bring it up to the next row that you will use it on, being careful not pull it too tight. This saves you from having to weave in far more yarn ends.
Keep printed patterns in sheet/page protectors, and then in a 3 ring binder. When you want to work a particular pattern, remove it from the binder but keep it in the page protector. While you are working on it, a thin dry erase marker works great for marking your place and making notes, but then you can erase it and put the pattern back into the binder when finished, looking like new.
Beginning crocheters or knitters should try to avoid working with very textured yarns like boucle yarns, eyelash yarns, and other novelty yarns. It is often difficult to see the actual stitches and where to place your hook or needle. Once a person gains some experience, then it will be easier to work with those yarns and they will be less likely to become discouraged.
To avoid a ladder at the beginning of rounds when knitting in the round: knit the first stitch of new round, knit the second stitch and then pull the working yarn to tighten. This closes any “ladder” effect that may be happening and keeps the seam tight.