Hi everyone, Saar has invited me to start some discussions about Tunisian Crochet.
Iāve been designing Tunisian Crochet items for a couple of years now (you can see most of them on my Ribblr store). My focus is on size inclusive wearables using techniques accessible to just about everyone.
Are there any people here interested in Tunisian Crochet that donāt know where to start?
My top tips:
Start with a small project like a washcloth/square/scarf/swatch
use big yarn that isnāt āsplittyā - I recommend all beginners start with 8 ply yarn (dk) and a 6mm hook
you donāt need to buy fancy hooks to get started. A 30cm or 12" rigid hook is perfect for a beginner who just wants to play with making squares. If you already have standard short crochet hooks, you can use these too - the ones without hand grips.
learn tunisian simple stitch first. If you can master that you can make almost all of my patterns.
practice until itās feeling comfortable to make the stitches and youāre getting an even tension.
Ok cool. Well, there are a couple of methods. I havenāt done tutorials on them myself because there are already quite a lot around.
There are two main methods and they differ based on whether youāre using a double ended hook or a single ended hook with a cable.
Hereās a tutorial on how to use a double ended hook by my friend Rachel Henri (her blog is fabulous, I recommend all her tutorials). Rachel Henri tutorial
And here is a good tutorial for the magic loop method (single ended cabled hook) on the Stitch Diva website.. This tutorial has been around for years - itās actually how I learned.
There is a more sophisticated joining method for the magic loop method coined by Rachel Henri called the āconnecting stitchā. I use this method now - itās better. The tutorials for this are within some of her patterns.
Kim Guzman has also done several YouTube on in the round as well. But I like the above ones best.
My tip for all of these: start with something small/achievable - just a practice swatch will be fine and go with at least dk yarn and a 6mm hook for ease of working the sts.
I started Tunisian crochet about a year ago! I was gifted some books, and theyāre full of beautiful stitches.
I wonder if youād know what are the best hooks to use? Iāve heard that Denise interchangeables are good. I bought a cheap bamboo set online, but they hurt my wrists. They have a 40" cord.
Hooks. Wellā¦ I can give you a lot of information there.
Firstly - I wouldnāt recommend the cheap bamboo ones with horrid clear inflexible cables. Throw them in the binā¦ haha
A lot of people like the Denise hooks. Iāve never used them myself but I know they are popular and readily available. I know some people that thatās the only hook they use and they just love them.
I started out with KnitPro Symfonie hooks. I donāt use them much any more but they were great for starting out. What Iām not happy with with these hooks is their inconsistent tips. Even when buying a full set youāll probably find the tips are all a bit different. I had my husband alter most of mine.
There are lots of commercial brands making hook sets nowadays - more than when I started. I know Pony do some that have had good reviews, thereās the Chiaogoo set (I have this set - theyāre good if you like bamboo hooks). Not many places have rigid double ended hooks though - they can be hard to find.
As to high end hooks - CATCH are the best. My favourite anyway. This is my husbandās side hustle. He sells them via Facebook & Instagram
I promise Iām not being biased with these hooks - he has been making hooks about 10 years and has honed and honed them until theyāre perfect. He does timber single & double ended and anodised aluminium doubles and cabled hooks. I donāt use any other hooks these days. If I need an odd size, he pops down to the workshop and makes it for me! Iām a bit spoiled there!
If youāre only dabbling, I wouldnāt bother with a full set of expensive hooks - the ChiaoGoo ones cost me over $200AUD. Get yourself either single hooks or a smaller set - I know Denise have some smaller hook sets that look pretty cool. If youāre getting serious and want a full set, I can point you to a page I moderate on Ravelry that has a full hook review of the known ones.
Iāll keep my bamboo ones for practice, but since they hurt my wrists Iāll definitely purchase another set. The end stoppers already are coming off (itās a plastic bead at the end).
I found the smaller Denise interchangeable hook set you mentioned. It comes with 6.5 mm-15 mm hooks, so Iām thinking to purchase them.
Until I get serious about the craft, Iāll wait to purchase a good expensive set. I waited a year before I purchased my Chiaogoo interchangeable knitting needles set, and it was a great purchase. I really appreciate your help!
Re the Denise set you mentioned - that will do well with thicker yarns - dk and heavier. If youāre not planning on working with finer yarns, this set will be perfect for you.
Thank you so much for sharing this information! I learned Tunisian Crochet last year and Iām so in love with it I have so much to learn but Iām enjoying it every step of the way!
Hey Kim, a good place to start is the One Skein Shawl or maybe the Cable Cowl. I made some YouTube videos for the Cable Cowl a little while ago which is in the Ribblr pattern and itās free.
I havenāt got total beginner patterns because thereās already a lot around - things like wash cloths are a good way to learn.
Great idea and I also love how the Spiral Cable Cowl looks! I think there are endless color combos with this one.
Also wondering if your Offset T Square pattern also suits beginners? Itās stated as intermediate but I saw this journal and it says that it isnāt complicated at all.
Hey Saar, well I donāt find it complicated but Iāve had a lot of people say that it is! But theyāre much newer to tc than I am. There are only 3 stitches in it and itās a small project so with that Iād say yes, itās basic to do. You just have to concentrate.
That pattern is a good advertisement for the Ribblr charts - for those who are struggling with the counting and keeping track of stitches, the interactive chart will help them a lot.
Saar, I just had a thought bubbleā¦ When there is a journal for a pattern, I reckon it would be cool for the thumbnail of the pattern to display a symbol to show that there is a journal for it - without going further into the pattern - like how there is the knitting/crochet/tc symbol underneath IYKWIM
I just did a little Google search but didnāt find anything to answer my question so I was wondering if you might know
Im currently making a Tunisian shawl,
Got up to make a cuppa, came back and canāt for the life of me remember if I was doing a forward pass or return pass
I canāt tell which way
I donāt suppose there is a way to tell unless I make a note? Or maybe it will show up on the next forward pass?
I have so much to learn but Iām enjoying it every step of the way! 
