Amazing Crochet Textures with Craftsy


What do you think of my little samples?  They aren't huge I grant you but I'm actually pretty proud of them.

I was recently approached by Craftsy and offered the chance to take some of their great online classes and talk about my experiences here.  I wasn't very familiar with Craftsy at the time but I'm so glad I took a moment to find out what they are about because I've really been impressed.

The first class that I want to tell you about is Amazing Crochet Textures with Drew Emborsky.

 The main focus of this free class is using front and back post crochet stitches but there's plenty more information in there too, from making foundations crochets and blocking to adding beads to your work.  In fact the class includes everything you need to make this pretty afghan...



That means, as well as watching Drew take you through the stitches step by step, you also get a complete pattern to download, including charts.  Not bad for free.

Although I've only recently started to work with front and back post stitches I was fairly confident with the simple ribbing square that we started with, but I haven't attempted cables in crochet before so I was interested to see what I could learn.  That's when  I realised that there are a few things that really take these classes to a whole other level and make a huge difference when you are watching with hook in hand, ready to follow along.

The first is the 30 second repeat feature, which means if you come to instruction you'd like to see again, or a part you are stumbling over, you can just click the '30 second repeat' button and the video loops that little section for you, as often as you like, until you are ready to move on.  Guess how often I used this feature while working my first couple of cables!

It just makes all the difference in the world having someone talking you through it step by step.  Pretty much every time a query popped into my head over exactly how or what way I should be doing something, Drew mentioned a little tip or technique that answered my question and I was happily hooking away again.



I other rather nifty feature I discovered, is a 'note' section which enables you to make a bookmark at any point in the video, so you can come back to that exact point any time you want too.  I can't wait to try that out next time I take a class.

I was so excited by my first little venture into the world of cabled crochet at I kept going with this swatch until I ran out of yarn.  Now I've got the basics I want to try my skills out on some more patterns.

So, if you're interested in learning more about textured crochet or even if you've just never tried a Craftsy class before I want to see what it's like then I can certainly recommend the experience.

Just head over to Craftsy now and log in (or sign up) to try the free Amazing Textures Crochet class.




S x




This post is sponsored by Craftsy.
This post does not contain affiliate links.


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Comments

  1. Once you sign up with Craftsy you get bombarded everyday with sales pitches. And always nothing you want. Whenever I want to learn something I use a book. I can learn at my own pace then. I did crochet through back and front posts in that way. Books are brilliant and I have no idea why courses are so expensive. You learn through doing so why not just do it?

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  2. Thanks so much for your comment. That’s strange, I haven’t had any problems with lots of emails from Craftsy since I signed up. Maybe there is some account setting you can change so you don’t get so many emails?
    I also agree that the prices for the classes can seen expensive at first look. Until I took a class I would have agreed with you but now I’ve tried them I can see the value of them. I do also take your point about learning from books etc, that’s what I have done myself up to now, but everyone learns in different ways...
    Sandra x

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  3. I love to crochet (self taught) but I only just started, so much still to learn!!!! It sounds fantastic, Thank you!!! Have a creative week!!!
    Love
    AMarie

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  4. I recall being bombarded with Craftsy offers as well, so I had to unsubscribe.
    I do love the '30 second repeat' feature! I can't tell you how many times I've attempted to 'rewind' a vid and go back way too far!
    Those are beautiful stitches Sandra! I would love to learn them!
    Oh and...my favorite youtube crochet guru? Micheal Sellick of 'Crochet Crowd' fame. I've learned so much from him (he's working for Red Heart now too!)

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  5. thank you so much for sharing the link, Sandra. I saw it and thought it looked interesting, but didn't realize it was a free class!!! That is even better. I love your colorful swatches too. I think that they'd make beautiful washcloths.

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  6. I love it when things are explained in a video, it makes such a difference seeing someone do it and also being able to replay it (over and over) again. The textures are wonderful, and I especially like the beads, I'm a big fan of beads with yarny things.

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  7. The textures are amazing!! I wonder what you will make to incorporate all that you have learned!! xx

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  8. Those textures look fab, there is always something new to learn isnt there! Thankyou for sharing :) xo

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  9. Lovely post Sandra. you did very well! Congratulations. You made this post your own, it is honest and informative without being a straight out advert. I couldn't have done it better myself. And now you got me interested in trying a course as I never have... I might give it a go. As long as it is for free! LOVE your yellow swatch. I have this thing for yellow this summer. Crazy about it!!! And the cables. Adorable!!!
    Xxx
    Annette

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  10. What a wonderful way to learn new stitches and techniques! Love your yellow swatch, so beautiful. Was familiar with Craftsy, but have never tried a class before - sounds like fun!

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  11. Oh, this looks fab! I hadn't heard of Craftsy so thanks for the tip. Lovely cable work! X

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  12. First off, thank you for the tip! I've been doing some front and back post crochet, but I've been wondering for a while how to do chainless foundations and those fancy diagonal textures.

    Secondly, about the spam: I signed up via email and and after filling in my email and password, unchecked a box asking if I would like to receive offers and such. Also, in my profile I made sure I unchecked everything under Email Notifications. Hope that helps!

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  13. It seems like a fabulous way of learning somemg new and you don't even have to leave your home... I don think it's expensive if you think you are learning a skill you will have for the rest of your life ... The more things you make with your new skill the cheaper the class will become...I love these new stitches and knowing you ... You will come up with some fabulous new Ida's to use the stitches :)

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  14. I see Craftsy classes advertised all the time but this is the first I've heard from someone who has actually done one - good to know what resources there are out there!

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  15. That’s a good point actually, I didn’t think of it that way and thank you, I hope I can think of something interesting with those new stitches!

    Sandra x

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