Things to do · Arts and crafts
Learn to crochet
A friend has invited you to do this with them.
Crochet needs one hook and a ball of yarn, and a handful of stitches built on a simple chain will make a dishcloth, a scarf or a blanket square. A beginners' class gets you past the awkward first rows and teaches you to read a pattern, which opens up everything else.
GentleUnder £100 / $130A few weeksIndoorsAlone or with othersUK and US
Someone who has done it
These are real people who did this, as reported by the outlets named. We opened each one before linking it. None of them is connected with this site.
What it's really like
Everything starts with a chain. Beginners then learn a few basic stitches, how to turn at the end of a row, how to work in the round, and how to increase and decrease. Coleg Gwent's course also teaches reading and following a pattern, and the University of Utah's class adds changing colour, with a dishcloth and a scarf as suggested projects.
Yarn and hook go together. The Craft Yarn Council's standard system puts DK in category 3, with hooks of 4.5 to 5.5 mm, and chunky in category 5, with hooks of 6.5 to 9 mm. It calls these guidelines only. Coleg Gwent starts its students on chunky yarn and a 6 mm hook.
The confusing part is the names. Simply Crochet explains that UK terms sit one step above US ones, so a UK double crochet is a US single crochet and a UK treble is a US double. If a pattern mentions single crochet (sc), it is written in US terms. Coleg Gwent teaches in US terms.
Ways in and what they cost
| Where | Course/format | Cost (as last listed) |
|---|---|---|
| Coleg Gwent, Blaenau Gwent Learning Zone | Crochet for Beginners: 29 weeks, Mondays 4pm to 6pm, from October 2026; yarn and a 6 mm hook provided in week one | £50 (£30 tuition plus £20 other fees); half-price tuition on means-tested benefits |
| University of Utah Continuing Education, Salt Lake City | Beginning Crochet: four Thursday evenings in March 2027, two hours each | $170 ($125 tuition plus a $45 fee for shared supplies) |
| Crochet Guild of America chapters | Local chapters; the Craft Yarn Council says many local crochet groups are CGOA chapters | See the guild's website |
Coleg Gwent says students will need more hooks, DK and chunky yarns and a tapestry needle for weaving in ends as the course goes on. Utah's class asks students to bring some of their own materials from a supply list.
How to start
- Book a beginners' crochet class at an adult education college, a community college or a library, and ask whether a hook and yarn are provided for the first session.
- Start with smooth, light-coloured DK or chunky yarn and the hook size printed on the ball band, so you can see each stitch.
- Before you buy a pattern, check whether it uses UK or US terms: the same stitch names mean different stitches.
Where to go
- Coleg Gwent: Crochet for Beginners (Blaenau Gwent) UK
- University of Utah Continuing Education: Beginning Crochet (Salt Lake City) US
- Craft Yarn Council: guilds and groups, including Crochet Guild of America chapters US
We opened these links on 7 November 2026 and found them to be what we say. Dates, places and prices are on the official page, where they stay up to date.
Plan this
Pick a day, or a month, and we will set out how to get ready, step by step, with a date and a reason for each. Courses and classes have start dates and can fill up, so the plan begins with finding and booking one. Kit comes after the first session, once you know what you need.
Questions people ask
What size crochet hook should a beginner use?
Match the hook to the yarn. The Craft Yarn Council suggests 4.5 to 5.5 mm for DK and 6.5 to 9 mm for chunky; Coleg Gwent starts beginners on chunky yarn with a 6 mm hook.
What is the difference between UK and US crochet terms?
UK names are one step up from US ones, so a UK double crochet is a US single crochet. A pattern that uses single crochet (sc) is in US terms.
How long does it take to learn to crochet?
A short course covers the basic stitches and a first project. The University of Utah's beginners' class runs for four evenings; Coleg Gwent's runs weekly through the year and goes on to garments and decorative pieces.
Do I need to bring my own yarn to a crochet class?
It depends on the course, so ask. Coleg Gwent provides yarn and a hook in the first week and then asks students to buy their own.
Where this comes from: Coleg Gwent, Crochet For Beginners; University of Utah Continuing Education, Beginning Crochet; Craft Yarn Council, Standard yarn weight system; Craft Yarn Council, Guilds & Groups; Simply Crochet (gathered.how), Crochet abbreviations and UK to US crochet terms. Opened 7 November 2026.
Read next
“Education has no expiration”: Virginia Ordaz and her mother finished their degrees in the same class
How a retired fire dispatcher from Stockton, California, finished the degree she started in 1989, and how her mother finished hers more than 40 years after her last class. How to find out what your own old credits are worth, in the US and the UK.
Sixty paper hats on a table in Bridlington: David Smith and the shape mathematicians had sought for decades
David Smith of Bridlington, a hobbyist with no training in mathematics, found 'the hat': the first single shape known to cover a flat surface only in patterns that never repeat. How he found it, why he could not prove it alone, and the free tools that let you put the same tiles on your own table.