Never held a crochet hook? This is where you start.
We guide you every step of the way: your first lesson, your first finished project, and what to learn next. Every stitch is on video with Lauren from WillowCrochet, filmed for right and left hands.
- Absolute beginner
- Right and left handed videos
- Everything in the box
- A path, not just one project
What sounds like you?
How to hold your hook and yarn
This is where every Berstuk beginner kit begins. Pick your hand and press play: Lauren films every lesson for right and left handers, so nobody is left mirroring a video.
The same first lesson opens the Mug Rug and the Stitch Sculptor.
The artist behind every kit
Lauren, Willow Crochet
Designed every Berstuk crochet kit and teaches every stitch, left handed and right handed.
Lauren does colourwork, which mostly means graphgans, the picture blankets you need a chart to follow. She runs Graphgan School to teach people how, so ours is not the first set of lessons she has written.
- The pattern and the lessons were made by the same person, so the videos match the kit in your hands.
- Every step is filmed close up, for right and left hands, so you never have to guess from a photo.
- Stuck on a stitch? Email info@berstukstore.com and a real person replies.
Start here, then keep going
Dip your toes with one project, or take the whole path. Each kit picks up where the last one left off, and every lesson is on video.
Try it: the Mug Rug
One skein, one hook, one project: two mug rugs that are flat and forgiving, so every stitch is easy to see.
- Holding the hook and yarn
- Slip knot and chain
- Your first rows of stitches
Learn it: the Stitch Sculptor
The same first lessons, then three projects in one box: bookmarks, a mug jumper and face scrubbies.
- Everything in the first lessons
- Three projects, three new skills
- A real foundation to build on
Your first amigurumi: the capybaras
When the basics feel easy, crochet in the round and shape a little animal.
- Working in the round
- Shaping and stuffing
- Two capybaras in every kit
A bigger challenge: Benny the Bunny
More pieces and more shaping, for when you are ready to stretch yourself.
- Joining several pieces
- More detailed shaping
- Benny comes with his own carrot backpack
Both starting kits open with the same first lessons, so you cannot choose wrong.
Three ways to start
| YouTube + craft store yarn | An amigurumi kit | Berstuk beginner kits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free videos, yarn extra | Varies | $18 to $23, everything included |
| First project is flat and forgiving | Depends | No, small and in the round | Yes |
| Yarn chosen so stitches are easy to see | Guesswork | Sometimes | Yes |
| Left handed lessons | Hard to find | Rarely | Yes, every lesson |
| Everything in one box | No | Yes | Yes |
| A clear next step | You find your own | Depends on the brand | Yes: capybaras, then Benny |
Questions beginners ask
I have never held a crochet hook. Is this really for me?
Yes. The first lesson is how to hold the hook and yarn, and you can watch it above before you buy. Nothing is assumed.
I am left handed. Will the videos work for me?
Yes. Every lesson is filmed for left handers too, not a mirrored right handed video. Switch to Left hand above and watch the first one.
Why not start with a cute amigurumi animal?
Amigurumi uses small stitches worked in the round, plus shaping and stuffing. A flat project teaches the same basic stitches with nothing to hide mistakes. When you are ready, the capybaras are the next step.
Mug Rug or Stitch Sculptor?
If you want to try crochet first, the Mug Rug. If you have decided and want three projects, the Stitch Sculptor. Both start with the same first lessons.
What comes after my first kit?
The capybaras teach you to crochet in the round, then Benny the Bunny adds more pieces and shaping. Each kit picks up where the last one left off.