In this episode we talk about getting started on a crochet journey, including substituting yarn and the importance of making a tension square; lace-weight yarn; myth-busting – does crochet really use more yarn than knitting? WIP Wall and FOs along with our usual magazine round-up and our look towards Woolfest.


Welcome to The Crochet Circle Podcast. Here are the Show Notes from Episode Four.
 
This podcast is sponsored by my online crafting company, Provenance Craft Co. and Lynne Rowe Knitting and Crochet


Thanks to everyone who tunes into the podcast whether it is through Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, iTunes or the YouTube Channel. Your support and engagement are really appreciated and makes running a podcast very special and worthwhile.   
If you would like to support the podcast, you can do that through Patreon:

 
Rooster Delightful Lace Competition Prize is sponsored by
www.roosteryarns.com
 
First, we have a few thank you’s for helping us to reach over 1,200 downloads on Podbean.
 
Thank you to Kathryn at www.crafternoontreats.com who mentioned us in her podcast Episodes 7 and 8 and also to Tamara at www.craftyescapism.com for a great review on her website.
 
Thanks to Trinketknits for her lovely iTunes review and to everyone else that is engaging with us through Pinterest, IG, Ravelry and Twitter.
 
You may have spotted us in Crochet Now, Let’s Knit magazine and Simply Crochet - so thanks to Hugh, Sarah and Sara for featuring The Crochet Circle on their News pages. We're really chuffed to bits.
 
           
 
 


1. Yay Crochet or Nay Crochet (at 3.55 mins)
It's a nay from Fay about lace-weight yarn and having to use anything below a 3mm hook: 
I love what other people can create, however, it just isn’t for me as I prefer more instant gratification. I don’t intend on doing everything in chunky yarn but I found lace weight crocheting and knitting REALLY frustrating and I’m very happy to leave that in the hands of others...
Such as these brilliant examples of miniature crochet, from Suami:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SuAmi
  
Its a yay from Lynne on teaching crochet:
Last week was the last of my 5 Learn to Crochet Classes at Sandbach in Cheshire. I’ve been running crochet and knitting classes through the Sandbach Adult Education programme for about four or five years now and I’ve met some lovely people along the way – many of whom have become really good friends and even work colleagues J. This time round I had four enthusiastic ladies who had all tried to teach themselves but hadn’t been able to get to grips with crochet and felt that they need to be physically shown, rather than learning by book. It was great that I have a wide range of ages, from a lady in her late 20’s up to a lady who was 79 (and who came on her bike!!!). We learned the basics of crochet and made a flower, granny squares, ripple stitches, shell stitches and we worked in a spiral. I’m always amazed when my pupils return the following week with things they’ve made from the stitches learned and even happier when they tell me how much they’ve enjoyed making things with their new skills.  
 
 
2. Helpful Hints on how to get started on a project (at 8.05 mins)
We're both starting a crochet garment (or two) that we aim to wear at Yarndale.
 
You can join in too and we can see just how stylish crochet can be.
We've set up a board here on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/the-crochet-circle-podcast/topics/3438284
 
In this episode, we talk about choosing or substituting yarn and the importance of working up a swatch or tension square.


We recommend http://yarnsub.com  as one method of checking which yarns you could substitute to.

We covered making a tension square in the last episode and you can find the notes here:
http://thewoolnest.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/explaining-crochet-tension.html
Then in upcoming episodes, we’ll cover:
Finishing off the project  - best way to sew it together
Washing and blocking the project so that the stitches look as they