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Getting started with crochet BY METRO Hobbies provide an opportunity to learn new skills, meet peo- ple, earn a little extra money and keep minds sharp. Peruse the aisles of a home improvement retailer or craft store and you're likely to find many different ideas for keeping busy. When visiting the yarn aisle of a favorite store, shoppers may be inspired to create ev- erything from scarves to sweaters and more. This is entirely possible for those who care to learn the art of crochet. Crochet is a type of yarn work named after the hook that is used in the process. Crochet is derived from the French word croche, which means hook or hooked. Historians believe the art was connected to the French tambour embroidery of the 18th century. Books reference the use of ivory, bone or wooden hooks and steel needles. The word crochet first appeared in the Dutch magazine Penélopé in 1823. The first English reference to garments made of cloth produced by loop- ing yarn with a hook oc- curred in "The Memoirs of a Highland Lady" by Elizabeth Grant, which was written between 1845 and 1854. Crochet creates garments by making interlocking loops of fiber, whether it's yarn, thread or even twine. Various projects can be made from this craft, but blankets, scarves and hats are among the most popular. Cro- chet doesn't require a lot of supplies to get started; in fact, all you really need is yarn, a hook, scissors and some knowledge of the more basic stitches. To crochet, one starts with a slipknot in the yarn, which will provide the anchor by which the yarn is initially cast onto the hook. Crocheting be- gins with making a chain, which is repeat- edly passing the crochet hook underneath the string of yarn to grab on to it and drawing it through the previous loop. This is repeated until the desired length is reached. The next stitch to learn is the single crochet, which even in its most basic form can be used to create blankets or gar- ments. As you gain confidence with basic stitches and projects, you can eventually move on to more com- plex stitches. One of the keys to crocheting is to grow familiar with the pat- terns and abbrevia- tions. Abbreviations are used to make project instructions more concise. For example, rather than writing "chain thirty stitches," one will see "ch 30." Single crochet becomes "sc," double crochet is "dc"and triple/treble crochet "tc." Double and triple stitches produce taller stitches. Here is an example of a round of stitches for a project: Ch 2, Dc 5. Dc 2, ch 2, dc 2 around the ch2- space. Repeat (Dc 7. Dc 2, ch 2, dc 2 around the ch2-space) 3 times. Dc 2. = 52 sts. The last number represents the number of stitches you should have, so you can look for this number to ensure that you fol- lowed the pattern cor- rectly. The next tip is to rec- ognize that certain gauge hooks are required, as is the weight of yarn or other material for projects. Hooks are sold in millimeter size or a letter or number gauge. For example, 4.0 mm, G/6 size. The pattern should list how large the finished project will be if you follow the recom- mendations for hook size and yarn weight. Learning to crochet can be a worthwhile venture. It may take a little time to grow com- fortable with the lan- guage and technique, but as you gain more experience, you can try more complex patterns. Fortunately, there are plenty of online tutori- als that demonstrate stitches for those who want to see before doing. Robson Homes is proud to welcome you to an extraordinary enclave of exquisitely designed homes in the Cambrian area of West San Jose. 4-bedroom homes with ADUs 2,831 to 3,785 square feet Prices from $3 million G R A N D O P E N I N G BROKERS WELCOME 408-761-9219 RobsonHomes.com Models Now Open daily 10:00 am to 5:00 pm 2076 Cully Place • San Jose, CA 95124 Homes | Advertising Supplement 001 BAY AREA NEWS GROUP H3