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Find out what my first crochet project was and the lessons I learned along the way.
Although I’ve just started this blog, I feel like there would be missing something if I didn’t look back on the first ever crochet project I completed.
If you’re brand new to crochet and you’re interested in making amigurumi, this is a great one for you too! I also reflect on the lessons I learned when crocheting my first crochet project, in the hope that it might help you too.
So, here he is… Introducing, Max the Monkey.
Max the Monkey was my first ever crochet project I completed. Even though I made mistakes, I still think he is absolutely adorable. Don’t you agree?
Trust me, even if your first crochet project doesn’t turn out perfect (it won’t, and that’s okay!), it will still hold a very special place in your heart.
Max the Monkey: My first crochet project
I love giving my amigurumi a little backstory. So before I go on to tell you more about Max the Monkey’s amigurumi pattern and what I learned about crocheting my first project, I thought I’d tell you a little more about Max….
Max is an enthusiastic Monkey who loves to go outside and be surrounded by nature. Except when it’s snowing outside, or when the COVID-19 pandemic is looming. He does miss going for long walks in our local park though, but at least he is at home, safe, and with his family.
Details for Crocheters: Crocheting Max the Monkey
I absolutely loved crocheting Max, and was so proud of myself once I completed him. He was a wonderful crochet project for someone who was just starting out with crochet. And his pattern is ideal for a first crochet project!
Crochet pattern (ideal for a first crochet project!)
The pattern I used was Crochet Cute Critters: 26 Easy Amigurumi Patterns by Sarah Zimmerman.
Sarah has loads of inspiring Amigurumi and crochet patterns on her blog, and you can learn more about the crochet books she’s written here.
Crochet Cute Critters is such a wonderful book for beginner crocheters. It’s truly what got me hooked on crochet, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that.
There are plenty of beginner step-by-step tutorials in the front of the book, and the patterns are really quite simple to follow. Of course, as someone who was brand new to crochet, I also used the book alongside some YouTube video searches to help me through any steps or crochet stitches I was unsure of.
Yarn
The yarn I used was not the type suggested in the book. I used West Yorkshire Spinners Bo Peep Luxury Baby DK in brown and cream, which comprises of 52% Falkland Wool and 48% Nylon. I’ve added two photos below of the brown wool I bought, sadly I didn’t take photos (or keep labels) from these yarns, so I’m unsure of the colour codes. Something I’ve now learned to do before starting any project. However, I have found some similar colours that I think would also look super cute below.
What I learned from my first crochet project
As with every crochet project, you learn something.
With this little guy being my first ever project, I learned a lot!
All I can say is, thank goodness I kept track of thoughts, helpful tips and tricks, and these lessons on my Instagram profile. Otherwise, I probably would have forgotten most of them. This brings me to my first lesson learned and tip for anyone starting out on their crochet journey.
Keep track of progress as you go
I don’t mean just keep track of what row you’re up to, but by documenting what you learn from working on each project as you go through will help you with your future projects.
Whether you keep track by starting an Instagram account for your craft work, you write it down in a notepad (like this project journal here), or you take notes in your online Ravelry account – just make sure you take notes as you go. This will definitely help you in the long run.
Count your crochet stitches as you go
Stitch markers (like these ones here) help a lot for this. When starting out, I used to put a stitch marker in the starting stitch of each row, and again about every 10 – 20 stitches depending on the size of the row I was working on. This helped me a lot to keep track of where I was at.
You can even use a ‘row counter’ if you find it helpful too (here’s an example of one). I am a little old fashioned however, and prefer to keep track of row numbers in my notebook. I write all the row numbers down at the beginning for each body part I’m making, and then tick them off as I go along. This is a brilliant take on a crochet notepad here if you fancy doing the same.
Don’t be afraid to undo and redo stitches
I found, when starting out with crochet, I was more concerned about finishing my first project than I was about perfecting it. In some ways this was a good thing, because it meant I completed my first project fairly quickly. However, in retrospect, I was afraid of undoing stitches when I knew I’d gone wrong somewhere. If you’d like to know the crochet term for undoing stitches, it’s called frogging (because you ‘rip-it’, get it? haha).
My advice is, don’t be scared to frog your work (aka undo your stitches). If you notice you’ve made a mistake somewhere, undo your work back to a point where you know you’ve gone past the mistake. Then redo the stitches. You’ll feel more proud of your work at the end, trust me.
Joining stitches between rows: The line is meant to be there
This was something that really puzzled me when I started crocheting my first project, Max the Monkey. There was a little line that appeared in all of Max’s body parts. It looked a little bit like a seam.
After further research, I found out that it was meant to be there. This was happening due to the joining slip stitch I was doing at the end of each round.
Not all amigurumi patterns use a slip stitch between each round, and as you become more proficient at crocheting you won’t need to either. Many crochet patterns will state ‘work in continuous rounds’, which means there is no slip stitch separating the rounds. When it work in continuous rounds, there is no seam line either.
However the crochet pattern book Crochet Cute Critters does use this slip stitch technique, and I think it’s for a good reason.
I found that by following the pattern to a T, and using the joining stitch between each row, it helped me keep track of where my stitches and rows were. And for a brand new crocheter, this is extremely important to get the hang of.
Using this technique improved my ability to count stitches, keet rounds as even as I could, and it was just an easier way to start out. So don’t be put off by the little line. It’s meant to be there, and consider it a thing of beauty, just like a wee beauty spot.
I could honestly go on with so many points about lessons learned here, but I’m aware that Max was my first completed project, so I don’t want to be too hard on the wee guy (or myself). However, I’ll end with one last lesson learned about stuffing.
Too much stuffing?
When Max was completed, I had wondered whether he was on the heavier side of the scales, if you get my drift.
In retrospect, I don’t think I did stuff Max too much, but I do think that the stitches I made weren’t tight enough, and that’s why it looked like I’d stuffed him too much.
Essentially if your stitches aren’t tight enough, and you stuff an amigurumi a lot, the stitches will pull apart from each other so there will be little tiny gaps throughout your work. This also unfortunately results in being able to see the stuffing through your stitches.
Thankfully Max’s stuffing hasn’t escaped, but this is something I’m much more aware of now when crocheting Amigurumi. If you’d like to avoid this from happening, simply use a smaller crochet hook than the one that your yarn label recommends.
Final thoughts about my first crochet project
I think Max was a great first crochet project to work on! Overall, the body parts were all quite straight-forward to make, the stitches were simple, and the pattern was easy to follow (very beginner friendly!). Most importantly, I’m super proud of myself for making this wee guy. He is the reason I got hooked on crochet, and I’m happy to have him as part of our little family.
If you’re considering making Max the Monkey and have any questions at all, I’d love to hear from you. Please do leave me a comment below, and I can’t wait to follow along with you on your own crochet journey.
Until next time, happy crocheting,
Cilla x
