Let me start by saying that I don’t crochet… much. For Christmas, in 2023, my step daughter Sahsheem gave me one of the most thoughtful gifts. It was a bag with crochet hooks and several different yarns. She had bought herself the same thing and said “I’ve been wanting to learn to crochet, so I thought we could learn together.”

Learning to Crochet

I’m left handed. That makes learning to crochet challenging, especially when most YouTube videos are for/by right-handed folks. There are definitely left-handed tutorials out there, but the challenge was that Sahsheem and I were learning together and she is right handed. This was the YouTube video that we used to learn that day.

It took me a little while to get into the groove, but once I did, it flowed smoothly. I almost felt as if I could do the stitches without looking! Almost.

It took me several sessions to make the scarf. In between sessions, to keep my work from unravelling, I learned that poking the crochet hook into the center of the yarn was ideal.

Bonding Moments

Learning to crochet ended up being a great bonding moment between my oldest stepchild and me. Sahsheem is a brilliant young woman. In fact, so brilliant that she graduated with an astrophysics degree, then went overseas to get her Masters degree. Next she’s on to her doctorate. Look out world, here she comes!

I have a preteen stepdaughter as well. She loves her big sister and wanted to hang out with us quite a bit. She took one of my very first attempts at crocheting and turned it into a cute little eye patch.

My Thoughts on Crochet

I actually really enjoyed making this scarf. It got easier and easier as I went along, but to be fair, it was only a couple different stitches. I bought myself a crochet kit with cute little animal stuffies and tried and tried. I eventually gave up and gave the kit to Sahsheem, who has gone on to make tops, hats, scarves, and more. I blame the left handed handicap!

As I mentioned, Sahsheem has gone on to making lots more crochet projects. She has found a lot of helpful videos on this YouTube channel.

Kai was nice enough to model the scarf so you can see just how long it is. It’s warm and cozy and has lasted two winters so far!

I enjoyed this project, as I do most projects. I hope it inspires you to try something you’ve never done before!