seriously the best way to learn is from someone else.

that being said, if you don't know anyone who crochets near you, i could see how that would be a problem!

i had luck with learning to knit from stitch n' bitch but i don't know about the instruction in the happy hooker. i WILL say that most of the patterns in that book are VERY problematic, so i don't have a lot of faith in the instructional portion.

someone else in here might have a better idea than i do though!

good luck steph :)

There are some good links to sites with videos of how to do crochet on this tribe, and they're free.

Also, has anyone else seen this show called Needle Arts with Shay Pendray? It's on public TV, and I discovered it messing around with the Tivo. I don't knit or do embroidery (though I might be changing my mind on the latter after some of the stuff I've seen her do), but every other show or so, there's a crochet thing that I'm interested in.

So far I've learned that there is chenille thread with a wool core, which you crochet and then wash and shrink to make solid felted chenille. Also, that chenille just does weird loops that you have to fix on its own, they're not caused by doing something wrong.

I also saw a show on how to do Bedouin crochet, which is joining loops of beads, to make beaded edges for stuff. Really cool and simple, like, make a stitch, then thread X number of beads, then make another stitch, to make a beaded loop, repeat.

I'm a beginner and a visual learner, so I find the video format to be really helpful.

I've been crocheting for 20+ years and out of curiousity took a look at Happy Hooker and I think it is NOT a good book to start from scratch with when learning crochet. I think it's fine if you have some basics but even then I think it can be problematic. Here's why: The patterns are riddled with errata, which you have to research online before you start. I have known some people who still had trouble interpreting patterns even with the corrections available to them. I imagine a skilled crocheter could figure it out, but you don't want to have to do that as it will put you have crochet.

I still get tripped up sometimes by things, despite having been doing it so long. I keep a book at hand that I absolutely adore and it's called The Crochet Answer Book. Here's the amazon link to it: www.amazon.com/Crochet-An...011-6275352

I would recommend that book to be in anyone's library, not just novices.

Hope that helps.

Live in person instruction is definitely the way to go - a friend, neighbor, yarn shopkeeper, community college class, park-&-recreation district class, whatever.

I've seen some good videos and DVDs too. I even found a couple at my city library.

"Teaching Yourself Visually" looked like a good book when I ran across it at the bookstore (I did not teach myself that way, but the instructions and illustrations looked really good).

I've never heard anyone refer to Happy Hooker as a good *first* (or early) book for instruction. It's usually recommended as relatively simple projects for after you know some basics. I dunno - I've never used the book because I couldn't stand any of the designs in it.

After a live person the most luck I've had has been with the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Knitting and Crochet.

The Happy Hooker book is an excellent resource for a beginning crocheter. I disagree with many of the personal opinions that are in the book, but over all the teaching techniques and patterns are great. As others have stated, the best way to learn for many people is by having someone teach them. But I know many people that have become quite proficient knitters and crocheters by learning from a book. Actually the most amazing knitting instructor I know learned from a book. My mother taught me when I was 6 or 7. Then I relearned on my own when I was 18. Now I teach crocheting.