3 Tips for Teaching Left-Handed Crochet
Out of my 6 children, 5 of them are girls. So, naturally I want them all to love crochet as much as me. I taught the oldest 2 girls when they were 7 & 6 years old. At the time my 4th child (3rd daughter) was 5 year old. She wanted to learn also, but because she’s left-handed, had some learning struggles, and was only 5, she had a very hard time. We put it down for a couple years and tried to pick it up again, but she still wasn’t getting it.
I finally did some research and came up with 3 different methods that left-handers have used to learn to crochet. We.tried.them.all….
- The mirror effect – Have them sit facing you. The concept is to have them do exactly what they see you doing as if looking in a mirror. This will help them be able to visualize without having to reverse everything in their mind. The mirror effect will do that part for them.
- Teach yourself to crochet left-handed – Teach yourself to crochet left-handed so you can have a better understanding of how to teach it. Yes, it’s a stretch, but I actually tried this to help my daughter. It gave me a new found respect for trying something challenging. It was like learning to crochet all over again! While it did help my daughter a bit, it wasn’t the method she ended up going with.
- Have them try to crochet right-handed – Have them try to crochet right-handed. While this doesn’t seem like the most logical way, some people find it easier than actually using their left hand. I have 2 daughters that do everything with their primary hand but have one (maybe two) tasks that are easier with the opposite hand. Honestly this was the last technique I tried with my daughter, but it is ultimately what worked best for her.
Because everyone learns differently, you will need to try them to see which will work for you, or whomever you’re teaching. Left-handed crochet can be just as fun and rewarding as doing it right-handed. Whether you are teaching a child, or an adult, just keep trying and see what works best. Here are some additional Tips for Teaching Children to Crochet.
Do you have any other techniques to try that I didn’t mention?
Happy Crocheting!
I’m left-handed, and I learn thru watching Youtube videos.. I learn the basics first, stitch by stitch then proceed with patterns.. I just follow the pattern as it is..
That’s a great idea!