Guest Author - Kate Pullen

Videos are useful when learning to crochet and are ideal for visual learners. Watching someone making a crochet stitch can help explain a technique or give ideas for improving your crochet. This is also great for people who live in isolated areas away from other crocheters or classes as it allows you to see how other people approach their crochet.

Finding Free Online Crochet Videos
The videos can be found on the large internet video sharing sites such as YouTube.com, PhotoBucket.com and Video.Google.com. In addition to these large video websites, there also video amalgamation sites such as WeShow.com that gather videos from other sites.

Finding free online videos is very straightforward. Simply go to one of the large websites listed above and put in your search. This could be as general as ‘crochet’ or more specific, for instance ‘how to make a chain stitch’. Remember, however, the more specific your search the fewer the number of results that are returned. As the online videos are free to watch it doesn’t matter if you find one that does not quite offer what you are looking for – simple do another search and see what comes back.

Types of Video
Some of the videos on the internet have been put together by professionals and as such are expertly filmed. These videos are generally high quality, being well lit and filmed meaning that they are easy to watch. This is important where a video is demonstrating a technique or stitch where a close up of the hook and hand action needs to be seen.

Other videos have been put together by enthusiastic crocheters who are eager to share their knowledge and craft with others. Sometimes these videos might not have the polished finish of an expertly filmed video, however the enthusiasm and knowledge of the crocheter will shine through outweighing any imperfections in the video quality.

In addition to the videos found in the large video sharing websites, videos can also be found within blogs. Blog packages such as Blogger.com now make it very easy for bloggers to upload short videos directly into their blog. While this is another excellent resource and there are some absolute treasures to be found, there is a slight drawback in so much as it is a lot harder to find videos hidden away in some smaller websites than simply searching within, for instance, YouTube.com.

Favorites?
Online videos are a great way to learn more about crochet. Do you have any favorite crochet videos that you would recommend?