How to Start Crocheting: A Complete Beginner's Guide

Something quiet but significant is happening in living rooms, commutes and kitchen tables across Nairobi. People are picking up hooks, pulling yarn through loops, and discovering that one of the most satisfying crafts in the world requires nothing more than two hands, a single tool and a bit of patience.

Crochet — once seen as the domain of grandmothers — is firmly back. And for good reason. It is meditative, creative, genuinely useful, and beautifully accessible. You can start from absolute zero and make something real within an afternoon.

If you have been curious about learning to crochet in Kenya, this is your guide. We will walk you through everything: what you need, how to hold the hook, your first stitches, and where to find quality supplies right here in Nairobi.

Why crochet? Why now?

Across East Africa, a new generation of crafters is picking up the hook — not out of nostalgia, but because crochet fits modern life unusually well. It is portable (a hook and a skein of yarn fits in a handbag). It is screen-free in a way that still feels productive. And the community around it — on Instagram, TikTok, and in spaces like our Nairobi crafternoons — is genuinely welcoming.

Kenyan designers are also putting crochet on the map internationally, blending African aesthetics with modern techniques and championing locally sourced, sustainable fibres. Crochet in Kenya is not a trend borrowed from elsewhere — it is finding its own voice here.

What you need to get started

The beauty of crochet is that the starter kit is short. You do not need a trolley full of supplies. To begin, you need just three things:

1. A crochet hook — a single aluminium, plastic or bamboo hook
2. A ball or skein of yarn — not too thin, not too thick
3. A pair of scissors

That is it. You can add stitch markers, tapestry needles and project bags later — but for your first session, those three items are all you need.

Choosing your first crochet hook

Hooks come in sizes measured in millimetres, from very fine (2mm, for delicate lace) to very chunky (10mm and above, for thick blanket yarn). For a beginner, a 4mm or 5mm hook is ideal — large enough to see your stitches clearly, small enough to make a tidy fabric.

Aluminium hooks are the most forgiving for new hands: a smooth head that slides through yarn cleanly, and they are durable. Many beginners start with a basic aluminium set so they can experiment before settling on a favourite. Browse crochet hooks and accessories at In Stitches.

Choosing your first yarn

If there is one place beginners go wrong, it is choosing yarn that is too thin or too textured. For learning, you want yarn that is:

• Smooth — avoid fluffy, fuzzy or boucle yarns; you cannot see your stitches
• Light in colour — pale or mid-tone yarn lets you see each loop clearly
• DK or Aran weight — medium thickness (see the guide below)

A DK-weight yarn (also called 8-ply or light worsted) has roughly the thickness of a standard pencil. It is firm enough to hold its shape, forgiving when you drop a stitch, and versatile. Aran weight is slightly thicker and works up even faster, which is satisfying when you are starting out. Explore our full yarn range at In Stitches.

A quick yarn weight reference guide

How to hold your hook: the two grips

There is no single correct way to hold a crochet hook — but there are two main methods. Try both and use whichever feels natural.

• The pencil grip: hold the hook as you would a pencil, thumb and forefinger pinching the flat section just below the head. This suits smaller hands or people who crochet tightly.
• The knife grip: hold the hook with your palm facing down, as if gripping a dinner knife. More comfortable for longer sessions and looser crocheters.

With your non-dominant hand you hold the yarn, usually threaded between your fingers to create gentle tension. That tension keeps your stitches even. Loose tension makes large, open stitches; tight tension makes small, dense ones. Neither is wrong for a beginner — consistency matters more than perfection.

Your first stitches: start here

1. The slip knot

Every project starts the same way: with a slip knot on your hook. Make a loop with your yarn, pass the tail through the loop, and tighten gently until the knot sits snugly on the shaft of the hook — not so tight that the hook cannot move, not so loose that it slips off.

2. The chain stitch (ch)

The chain stitch is the foundation of virtually every project. Once you have your slip knot on the hook:

1. Hold the hook in your dominant hand and the yarn in your other.
2. Bring the yarn over the hook from back to front (a yarn over, or YO).
3. Pull the yarn through the loop already on your hook.
4. You have made one chain stitch. Repeat.

Practise until you can make 20 chains that look roughly even. This is your tension practice — genuinely the most important exercise for a new crocheter.

3. The single crochet stitch (sc)

Note: UK patterns call this a double crochet (dc). Always check which terminology a pattern uses before you begin.

Once you are comfortable with chains, the single crochet is your first full stitch. Make a foundation chain of 15–20 stitches, then:

1. Insert your hook into the second chain from the hook.
2. Yarn over and pull up a loop. You now have two loops on your hook.
3. Yarn over again and pull through both loops.
4. That is one single crochet. Move to the next chain and repeat.

At the end of the row, chain one (for height) and turn your work. Continue back across, working into each stitch. After four or five rows you will have a small rectangle — your very first crocheted fabric.

Your first project: a simple face cloth

The best first project is something flat, rectangular and useful. A face cloth takes roughly 45 minutes, uses one skein of cotton yarn, and leaves you with something satisfying.

What you need: one ball of DK or Aran cotton yarn (50–100g), a 4–5mm hook, scissors, and a tapestry needle to weave in the ends.

Pattern: chain 25. Single crochet across (24 stitches). Chain 1, turn. Repeat until roughly square — about 25 rows. Fasten off and weave in your ends.

Cotton yarn is ideal here: almost no stretch, so tension is easier, and a firm, structured fabric where you can see every stitch. It also washes beautifully. Find cotton yarns for your first project at In Stitches.

What to learn next

Once you are comfortable with the chain and single crochet, a natural progression looks like this:

1. Half double crochet (hdc) — a taller, slightly airier stitch
2. Double crochet (dc) — the most-used stitch in pattern work
3. Working in the round — circles and seamless tubes (key for bags, hats and amigurumi)
4. Reading patterns — abbreviations and repeat instructions
5. Increasing and decreasing — how to shape your work

Each builds on the last. Most crafters move from the face cloth to a simple granny square within their first few sessions — and from there, it really opens up. Browse all crochet supplies at In Stitches.

Where to find crochet supplies in Nairobi

In Stitches is Nairobi's dedicated haberdashery, with one of the best selections of yarn, crochet hooks and fibre-craft supplies in East Africa — from DK cotton and Aran acrylics to specialty yarns, plus the accessories you need from day one: hooks, stitch markers, tapestry needles and project bags.

We are at Muthaiga Mini Market, Nairobi, open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm. Not in Nairobi? We ship across Kenya and throughout East Africa, so wherever you are starting, we can get supplies to you.

Happy crocheting — from the In Stitches team, Nairobi, at Muthaiga Mini Market.