Crocheting left-handed

My Mam is a leftie, a ciotóg, a southpaw.

I’m not.

But, still, she managed to shift her brain far enough to the right to teach me to crochet. She obviously did a pretty good job of it because now it’s my full time profession, my favourite past-time, and the thing that keeps me and my loved ones cozy in the colder months.

If she’d gotten frustrated with our duelling brains, or if she’d insisted I crochet left-handed, I doubt very much that my love for this artform would have grown much beyond an initial curiosity. It would instead have withered on the vine as it does for so many lefties in this right-centric world.

I have great sympathy for the frustration many of my left-handed students feel. Many share tales with me of their attempts to learn to crochet in school, or by the side of a well-meaning family member. Often, their efforts ended in failure because “I just can’t hold the hook correctly”, or “the yarn won’t stay where I need it to”, or worst of all “I’m just not good at it.”

That last one, I assure you, is a lesson many, many left-handed crafters learn as their teacher’s enthusiasm wanes.

And this is why I make darn sure to give lefties a welcome break in my classes. If someone is willing to learn, then I’m darn well not gonna be the one who puts them off, and if you feel the same – or if you have a young student you’re looking to teach – here are my top tips to helping you and them get past the left/right barrier.

A. Don’t speak in “right” and “left”.

Just immediately chuck that sort of language in the bin. It’s no use to you here.

Instead, sit side-by-side and say “inside hand” and “outside hand”. That will stop you from getting your rights and lefts mixed up, and your student will get smoother narration from you as a result. Both of your dominant hands can be on the inside, and your weaker hands can be on the outside. Or the other way around, depending on the order you sit in. Either way is fine.

And you get to say things like “let’s hold our hooks in our outside hands”, “now we’re going to start our ‘yarn over’ on the inside, wrap it over the top of hook and travel to the outside…” etc etc etc. Try it, you’ll be surprised how much smoother it goes for you both.

B. Mirrors!

Lots and lots of videos are filmed by right-handed people. Lots of photo tutorials are too.

Some people take the time to offer left-handed versions, but it’s rare.

If you’re left-handed yourself – or are using diagrams and videos to teach someone who is – hold a small mirror at a right angle to the page or screen and look at the reflection. Instant left-handed content.

C. Learn to crochet left-handed yourself, you lazy baby!

Lefties have to navigate a world full of scissors that don’t cut, tin-openers that don’t open tins, and pens that smudge as they write. Sink taps and oven knobs and radio controls turn the wrong direction, dictionaries run through the alphabet from Z to A, and rulers count inches in reverse.

And don’t get me started on computer mouse buttons and corkscrews and knives and pencil sharpeners and golf clubs and even some crochet hooks!!!

The least you can do – you lucky right-handed weirdo – is to figure out how to meet them where they live in this one thing.

PS. This post was inspired by a future student of mine who emailed specifically to ask if my class is even worth attending because she is left-handed. My heart, oh fellow comrades in crafting, literally broke.