Dear Sandra,
I feel your pain! While I am right-handed, I grew up in a household where everyone else was left-handed, and I witnessed their struggle every day. However, when it came time to learn how to crochet, this situation came to be useful! I sat opposite my mother and mimicked her steps as if looking in a mirror and caught onto the process easily. It can be difficult to how to crochet left-handed for beginners. Lefties will hold the hook in their left hand and use their right hand to hold the yarn and maintain tension.
Reading Patterns
Once you’ve mastered learning the basic crochet stitches, you’re ready to move onto reading patterns and making more complicated pieces. The trouble is that crocheters who write patterns traditionally write them for the right-handed crocheter. Left-handed crochet versus right-handed crochet is not all that different, though! The most important thing to remember is that as a left-handed person, you will work your stitches from left to right while the right-handed crocheters work from right to left. When working rows, your finished work will look the same as a right-handed crocheter’s, except your rows will end on the right. If you’re working something in the round, such as a crochet hat, lefties work the rounds counter-clockwise as opposed to the right-handed clockwise.
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If your projects still aren’t turning out how you expect, check out these tips!
You’ll find that most crochet patterns can easily work for either the right or left-handed person. On basic patterns, you’ll just need to keep in mind that you’ll have to adjust certain aspects of the pattern, such as instructions on which side to join new colors or shaping. If the instructions indicate to insert your hook in the next stitch to the left, remember that you’ll do the same, but you’ll insert in the next stitch to the right. This will become almost “muscle memory” once you practice enough. At that point, you’ll rarely get hung up on the process.
Extra Tips on Crocheting for Lefties
If you have a chart to work from, remember that you’ll need to begin reading the chart from left to right. If you have something directional, such as a colorwork design that is asymmetrical, it might be best to sit down with a sheet of graph paper and reverse everything before working so that you do not accidentally reverse your design.
Being a leftie in a righty crafting world can sometimes be frustrating, but once you figure out the tricks to master your left-handed craft, you’ll be finishing up projects in no time. Try this Orchid and Chocolate Link Necklace if you’re looking specifically for leftie patterns. If you get really stuck, don’t forget that there are whole YouTube channels and websites dedicated to left-handed crocheters!
Just keep practicing, and you’ll soon have the automatic “leftie-translate” process down.
If you’re looking for another great pattern written for lefties, check out this Into the Blue Crochet Scarf Pattern.
Happy Hooking!
Chris
thank you so much for the info. It helped a lot.
I am Carolyn C
I am a lefty who loves to crochet. I follow the written pattern just as it is written. Although I am crocheting in the opposite direction, the project turns out well. What I must remember, however, is that when I am crocheting a sweater and the directions say right side of the sweater, I am crocheting the left side.
I struggled as a child to learn left-handed knitting from a right-handed teacher. Then, later, I just taught myself right-handed. Many continental knitters (of whom 90% are right-handed) go back and forth along rows, so there is no intrinsic ‘handedness’ here; which is true for a lot of activities which we do using either or both hands equally skilfully.
The real problem is when things are designed, usually for right-handers, so they don’t work properly when used in the ‘wrong’ hand – knife blades, scissor handles, pens attached to the right side of writing areas, kettles with a fill indicator on one side only.
I taught myself to crochet. I did not realise it was a left handed method! I was taught to knit by right handed people and now knit slowly and not particularly well whereas I have even won a prize for my crocheting.!!
I write and use a mouse left anded but can use the right everything else I do right handed because there were no special left handed tools on the market. I have no trouble with following patterns (unless I have mislaid the glasses) didn’t even think of them being different for left and right handers. More trouble with US versus UK as I live in the UK
You might find this article helpful! https://www.ilikecrochet.com/daily/beginner-crochet/tips-tutorials-and-abbreviations/uk-to-us-crochet-terms-exploring-our-differences/
– Nicola, Editor
thank you for the left-handed information. I’m left-handed and have been reading patterns for decades for right -handed crocheters.
I am a 56 year old lefty. The only leftie in my family most of my life. (My daughter is a lefty and my husband is a lefty too) I guess I was one if the fortunate ones as I never struggled with reversing patterns. In fact, if your not making a garment that you need the buttons on a particular side, there is no need to reverse anything. Just read and do the pattern as shown. If you are looking at charts, as long as you start on the same side as it states, it will all work out. If your making a garment, make the right side the left and the left side the right. I was taught to crochet when I was 7 by my right handed grandma. I did the same as Chris, and sat across from her. Learned how to knit in the same fashion from a right handed knitter. I am not sure what Chris means by “the struggle” as the only thing I struggled with as a child was right handed Scissors. They didn’t have left handed back then. Now to use left handed anything is a bigger Hassel then the way I taught myself to use things. I use a mouse on the right like most of the world, and find it awkward to use it on the left only because I was taught to use it on the right. I guess some people might find these things awkward, but it’s all in how you learn and are taught. Right handed people have said it looks wrong the way I do things, but it’s exactly the way they do it only reverse(holding in left not right). I have even had someone ask me if I was just learning to crochet when I was about 25. No! Buy they were right handed and it just looked awkward to them. I don’t know about other lefties, but seeing a right hander do something doesn’t seem any different to me than the way I do it. I guess because I grew up with righties.
I loved reading this. It can be so complicated and then … suddenly it’s not and you’ve got it. I cant read patterns yet … but I will get there.
Don’t give up, you’ll get there!
Cheat sheets helped me learn how to read a pattern, there are a lot of them on Pinterest, if you not sure what is MC (main color) is or ST ( Stich) is just refer back to cheat sheet in no time you will have them memorized. I hope this helps and yes hang in there!
As a leftie I’ve been so frustrated all these years trying to reverse patterns. I’d love to find specific sites that are for left hand only. Please can anyone recommend some by name as ‘looking on the internet’ for me hasn’t worked.
I’m sorry about your frustration. Might want to read my comment below about reversing. This is a great site for learning left handed crochet.
https://www.mooglyblog.com/how-to-crochet-left-handed/