“I have been a crafter all my life, but being a left handed crocheter, I have struggled with my projects coming out looking like my right handed friends. Do you have any tips for me? How about video or book suggestions?”
–RachelHi Rachel,
You know, this is such a common question among left handed crafters. It’s something we all struggle with. In truth, I am also left handed, and struggled with this a great deal while growing up. My solution was to learn to do everything right handed, but I know that this isn’t the best response for everyone.
As I’ve taught, I’ve learned a few tricks here and there to help left handed workers. If you are learning from a right handed crafter, sit opposite them and mirror their movements. Alternately, have a big mirror set up across from the right handed person, sit next to them, and watch what they are doing in the mirror. It will take a bit of getting used to, but it really does work. You’ll be working in the opposite direction, so just keep that in mind when you are picking your work back up after setting it down.
Here are a few basic differences between right and left handed work:
Lefties will work left-to right when working in rows.
Lefties will work counter clockwise when working in the round.
When finished, your work will be exactly the same, with the only difference being where the starting and ending tails are.
And don’t forget, in the day and age of information technology, YouTube is a life saver when it comes to learning new techniques. There are crafters who specialize in left handed lessons – try searching for “left handed crochet” and see if you can find what you need. AllFreeCrochet has a left handed crochet lesson playlist that you may find quite useful.
After you’ve practiced along with the videos online, just keep practicing. To help you edges, just make sure that you are ending in the correct stitches and use stitch markers to mark the first stitch of each row before you turn your work.
Good luck, Leftie!
Check for a teacher who knows right and left handed crochet. When I was teaching I had 3 lefties in my first class. I panicked and offered a free lesson the next day for the lefties. Went home that night and taught myself to crochet left handed. Luckily my students were very understanding with my awkward crocheting. I still pick up a left handed project occasionally and I still am very awkward. It makes me more understanding and patient with all beginners that I teach.
I am also left handed and I just read the pattern in reverse, and don’t have any trouble in doing it this way. I am self taught.
I’m a complete lefty and learn to crochet setting directly in front of my mom who was a righty and she taught me to read a pattern. I have always followed the pattern as written and don’t pay attention to right and left in the pattern. I once done a picture Afghan for my grandson of a train. My train was going the opposite direction of the one on the picture of the afghan but he didn’t care so why should I? It just makes our works unique.
I am also a leftie, called awkward lol. I learned in a totally right handed household. Mom was right handed, and I ended up learning by sitting facing her and shedding many tears of frustration. ???? I crochet clockwise with very tight stitches. Some patterns are a challenge, but thank goodness for YouTube. Good luck everyone.
My niece is left-handed and I would like her to learn to crochet. When trying to teach lefties to crochet or knit, I find it easier to have them sit in front of me and whatever my left hand does, their right hand should do. The same with my right hand and their left hand. It is kind of like a mirror image.
I use YouTube. I love it. It’s a revelation for me as a left-handed crocheter. I can see things in 3 dimensions (unlike a book) and in color. Search in Google under “YouTube left handed crochet” (you can also add the stitch name or other descriptors). One lady (CrochetKim (??) — I’m not her and I don’t get paid by ANYONE — darn! — but that ‘s just one of MANY sources I’ve found) who posts videos for lots of Tunisian Crochet is (I believe) right-handed, but she flips her videos for her left-handed viewers and uses “left handed” in her video titles. In her voice-overs she does not use “left” and “right” but other words that make just as much sense. There are many other posted videos by many other sources and I FINALLY understand what the 2-dimentional (mostly black and white) books are saying! I was so happy I found this that I just have to tell other left-handed crocheters whenever I can. (did I mention I’m so happy… sorry — I’ll go back to work now….)
I am a lefty in most things and was taught by my mother who was right handed, and I sat beside her my left to her right hand. Everything to me looks the same as things made by a right-handed person and can’t imagine why I see directions for left handers. Directions are the same for both left and right handed people except for the direction you do it in.
I am also a lefty. Have never had a problem and I crochet clockwise in the round. I have a right handed friend who says my crocheting is prettier than the right handed.
I am left handed also and always thought my crafts were sloppy and never knew hiw to correct them now i know i can find the proper way to make them look better all the simple stitches are fine it’s trying intricate stitches that come out wrong
My daughter was very left handed, so my mother would sit in front of a mirror and knit or crochet while my daughter watched and copied her movement; only backward; it actually worked. She did a really good job of her left handed edition of anything she made.
As a leftie self taught crocheter I was interested to read this as I have never had any issues. I actually work clockwise in the round too, not counterclockwise. The only issue I’ve ever had is to mentally reverse patterns when working from a diagram but I think as a leftie you get used to doing this with all kinds of things in life!!
I also make all my YouTube videos left handed as I know how much these helped me when I started!!
I recommend a book with left-hand & right hand directions. That is what I used many years ago. I checked one out from the library first & ended up buying the same book from a book store. It worked very well for me! Good luck to all the left-handed crocheted & knitters as there r books for that also!