Crochet Beginners’ Thread for All Beginner Questions

Hi everyone,
I was thinking we could have a thread for general or typical questions and problems faced by crochet beginners, since there are so many crocheters here—including people who have just started crocheting.
So, here’s the idea: crocheters can ask questions in this thread and maybe even connect with like-minded people or other beginners.
And perhaps one or two experienced crocheters might occasionally share a helpful tip for beginners or pass on some valuable insights?

I just sometimes get the impression that beginner crocheters don’t really dare to join in the conversation here, because there are so many pros around and because the items in the shop and all the photos of finished projects in the gallery always look amazing. And that’s not actually that easy—you have to practice for a long time before it looks that good.
And I was thinking, maybe we could make it easier for beginners and newcomers to join in here by starting a thread for them.

What do you think about that—or about the idea of this thread here? Do you think anyone would want to join a section just for beginners, where they can ask any questions that pop into their heads?

Hi muetzekatze, the idea itself is good, but I think beginners who have questions might not spend much time looking for threads like this—they’d probably just start a new one right away. However, if we could pin the thread to the top, it wouldn’t get pushed down and might actually get read.
@Mod, can you do something so the thread doesn’t get pushed down?

Thanks, Sidney—I’d thought of that too, but I was hoping there might be another way.

Hi... I’m still a complete beginner. I find this thread interesting. I have a problem—maybe you can help. I’ve already written to support, but maybe you have some tips. The thing is, I can’t open the files. I wanted to start with the free ones to see if it works... Unfortunately, no luck!
Best regards, Fati

Hello Fati81
welcome to our forum and to the site.
To open the files, you need the free Acrobat Reader or another program that can display PDFs. You can find lots of information here about downloading patterns - it's worth reading all of it:
https://www.crazypatterns.net/de/anleitungen-finden-und-herunterladen
Greetings from Mod Josefa

Hi, everyone!

Thank you for the great tips—I’m a “complete” beginner, too! I also want to focus only on crocheting for now, since that seems easier to me. I fell in love right away with this cute Minion here --->
https://www.crazypatterns.net/de/items/3962/haekelanleitung-minion
I’m afraid I’ll fail at this for now, but I don’t find pot holders all that exciting...
I’d love to share my successes (or failures :-) )

Best regards,
BettyBoom

Hi, I’m new here too and have a question: what does this mean, or how do I crochet this?
6 sc (1 inc, 1 sc) *3, 12 sc (1 inc, 1 sc) *3, 6 sc (42 sts). 6 sc (1 inc, 2 sc, 1 inc, 1 sc (1 sc, 1 inc, 2 sc)
1 inc, 1 sc, 12 sc, (1 sc, 1 inc, 2 sc, 1 inc, 2 sc, 1 inc, 1 sc) 6 sc (48 sts).
I just can’t figure this out. Hiiiiiiiiielp, please! Best regards, Angela

Hi, I’m new here. I’ve crocheted a few times before, but I bought these magazines specifically for that. But crocheting nothing but squares got too boring for me.

I wanted to try something new.
I figured I’d start with the free patterns and chose the heart by Mamigurumi, but unfortunately I don’t understand how to join the two halves together, since one row is always higher than the other for me. :(
It says to crochet it without a turning chain or a slip stitch.

I hope someone can help me.
Thanks in advance. :)

@Nesquik
Welcome to our forum and to the platform. I’ve messaged the seller Mamigurumi and asked her to read and answer your question here in this thread. I wish you every success.

Hi, for the heart, first crochet the two heart half-spheres, then join them along the edge with 5 sc (see photo in the pattern). After that, continue with the larger round and crochet one round of sc without any increases or decreases (skipping the center part where the heart halves were joined—see photo in the pattern). Best regards, Julia

But in the picture it looks like there aren’t any steps; with mine, one half is always bigger, kind of like a snail shell.
:(