I just read this post about online tutorial videos over at That’s Sew Emily. And ya know…I wouldn’t knock tutorial videos. It’s how I learned crochet.
See, I’m one of these people that seems to have difficulty learning a skill by reading about it. I have to SEE what’s going on – with the yarn, with the hook, which stitch to insert the hook into, etc etc. I don’t think I could have done the crocodile stitch bag I made if I’d had only written instructions to rely on; Mikey’s tutorial video was exactly the very thing someone like me needed if I was ever going to make anything other than straight rows of single, half-double, double or treble crochet. That got me out of doing blankets and scarves for the rest of my life.
The same goes for the granny square bottom bag I made – I didn’t follow written instructions. I went with a video tutorial. I remember when I did try to learn how to do a basic granny square when I first learned crochet; I was using written instructions at the time, and I couldn’t figure out where I was supposed to insert the hook after joining the two ends of my foundation chain. Once I saw someone do it on a video (I think it was one of Mikey’s videos that I viewed) I figured it out.
I know that once I get some decent jump rings for chain maille, tutorial videos on doing things like Byzantine weave and whatnot are going to be my lifesaver.
I don’t know if this is some kind of weird learning disability I have or what, and this is not limited to crochet. I sing too, but I don’t read music (not any more – I used to, back in 4th grade, but I have long since forgotten). I learn my part by ear, faster and better than if I was reading sheet music.
For some reason, written instructions actually slow me down when I try to learn something. Let me SEE what is supposed to happen (or hear, in the case of singing) and I can do it instantly.
I guess some people are just wired to learn things that way. So don’t knock video tutorials. Give them a fair shake. For some of us, they work really, really well.