Ever opened a crochet video, felt sure you had it, then lost the stitch the moment you picked up the hook? That gap between watching and doing is where many beginners give up. This guide pairs a short daily routine with YarnPal, a crochet app built around beginner courses and full video lessons.
The problem is rarely clumsy hands. Crochet is a handful of stitches built from one motion: wrap the yarn, pull it through. What takes time is tension, the steady grip that makes every stitch come out the same size, and tension only comes from repetition.
Below: the kit, the phone setup, the first stitches in order, a twenty-minute routine and a plain look at what YarnPal costs.
6 min read
📋 What you’ll find here
- Why watching beats reading when you start
- What YarnPal gives a beginner
- Set up your kit and your phone before you press play
- The stitches to learn first, and in what order
- A 20-minute routine that turns videos into practice
- Your first project, and where the app stops
Find YarnPal in your app store 👇
Key Takeaways
- Short, regular sessions matter more than talent.
- Video shows what a written pattern cannot: the angle of the hook and how the yarn runs between your fingers.
- See each lesson through once before you pick up the hook, then copy it one pause at a time.
- Learn chain, single crochet and double crochet, in that order, before a first real project.
- According to its store listing, YarnPal has five beginner courses, full project videos, hundreds of patterns and a row counter.
- It is free to download, but the stores list in-app purchases and a Premium subscription without saying what stays free.
Why watching beats reading when you start
A written pattern tells you what to do. It cannot show how your hand does it. For someone who has never wrapped yarn around a hook, a line like “yarn over and pull through two loops” is a sentence, not a movement.
Video fills that blind spot. You see the angle of the hook, how loosely the yarn runs over the index finger, and the order of the small moves that trips most people up on the first try.
Written patterns matter later, once you recognize stitches by sight. At the start, seeing the motion is worth more than any amount of text.
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What YarnPal gives a beginner
YarnPal is published by PIXELCELL PTE. LIMITED and sits in the Lifestyle category on both stores. Its listing describes five beginner courses that start with basic stitches and end with real projects, plus complete project videos filmed from several angles so you can see exactly where the hook goes.
The same listing mentions hundreds of patterns sorted by category and skill level, new patterns every week, a row counter that saves your place, and a tool that tries to identify a stitch from a photo. The videos live inside the app once you install it, not on this page.
It covers knitting too, so check that each lesson is for crochet. Reviews on Google Play also note that some patterns are filmed and others come with written steps only.
Set up your kit and your phone before you press play
Stopping halfway through a lesson to hunt for scissors breaks the rhythm. Both hands are busy while you crochet, so the phone needs a spot where you can see it without picking it up. For the first sessions you need very little:
- A medium-weight yarn in a light, solid color, so each stitch is easy to see and compare with the screen.
- The hook size suggested on the yarn label.
- Small scissors and a stitch marker. A paper clip works fine.
- A stand, a folding case or a clear bit of table next to your work, with the phone turned sideways so the video fills the screen.
- A longer screen timeout, so the screen stays on while a video is paused.
The stitches to learn first, and in what order
Almost everything in crochet grows out of a few basic stitches. Learn one per session, and move on only when it looks even.
Spend the whole first session on chain. It is the base of nearly every project, and it is where you find your tension. An uneven chain turns into an uneven piece, so twenty minutes of chain is time well spent.
| Stitch | What it does | Watch for this in the video |
|---|---|---|
| Chain (ch) | Makes the foundation row most projects start from | How the yarn is held so every loop comes out the same size |
| Single crochet (sc) | A short, tight stitch that makes a firm fabric | The hook going under both top loops of the stitch below |
| Double crochet (dc) | A taller stitch that grows faster and makes a softer fabric | The yarn over before the hook goes in, then two pulls through two loops |
| Slip stitch (sl st) | Joins rounds and moves the yarn without adding height | How loose it stays, so the next row is easy to work into |
A 20-minute routine that turns videos into practice
Watch the whole lesson once with the hook down. Seeing the full movement gives you a map: where the hand changes position and which step tends to confuse.
On the second pass, pause after every move and copy it. Freeze the frame as the hook enters the loop and compare it with your own hand.
Keep the kit set up where you sit and practice at the same time every day. Twenty minutes daily builds more skill than three hours on a Sunday. While you work, check these against the screen:
- Stitches too tight: watch how loosely the yarn runs over the teacher’s finger.
- A missed yarn over: pause at the wrap and count how many times the yarn goes around the hook.
- The wrong loop: see which of the two top loops the hook goes under.
- Rows getting wider or narrower: count your stitches at the end of every row.
Your first project, and where the app stops
Pick a first project you can finish, not the prettiest one. A dishcloth, a flat square or a simple strip in one stitch, something that fits into two or three sessions. Finishing a small piece keeps the habit alive, while a blanket abandoned on row three teaches very little.
The listing mentions 10-minute starter patterns for beginners, which is the right size for this stage. Amigurumi, garments and large blankets can wait.
Know where the app stops. Nothing in its listing says it watches your hands or checks your fabric, so noticing a piece that pulls to one side is up to you. Compare your work with the screen after every row. The eye for it comes with practice.
Is it free? Cost and how to download
YarnPal is not completely free. It is free to download on both stores, Google Play labels it with in-app purchases, and the App Store listing includes a section on YarnPal Premium, an auto-renewing subscription. Neither store says how much of the app works without paying, so do not count on the courses being open for free.
If you subscribe, the App Store listing says it renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the current period ends. You manage that in the subscription settings of your store account.
Use the buttons on this page and check the developer name, PIXELCELL PTE. LIMITED, before you install, since this category is full of lookalike icons. The app name varies slightly between stores, but the brand is YarnPal. Checked on September 28, 2026, the US App Store listing showed 4.7 with 33,139 ratings, and Google Play showed 4.7 with about 240 thousand reviews and more than 1 million downloads.
This article is informative and independent. We have no connection with the developer, and we are not responsible for how the app behaves, for the content of its courses and patterns, for changes to what Premium includes, or for the results of your practice.
FAQ
How long does it take to learn crochet?
Less time than most people expect. With a short session every day, an even chain and a first row of single crochet often come within a week or two.
Do I need an internet connection to watch the lessons?
Neither store listing mentions offline viewing, so assume you need a connection and check inside the app before you count on anything else.
Is YarnPal really free?
The download is. For everything else the listings only mention in-app purchases and Premium, so read any subscription screen in the app before you tap to accept.
Should I start with a video or a written pattern?
With a video. A written pattern is shorthand, like “ch 10, sc in second ch from hook”, and it only makes sense once your hands already know those moves.
Why does one pattern say double crochet where another says single crochet?
Patterns follow either US or UK names, and several stitches change name between the two: a US single crochet is a UK double crochet. This guide uses US names, so check which convention a pattern states before you begin.
Can I learn crochet if I am left-handed?
Yes. The motion is the same, mirrored, and the finished fabric looks practically identical. If a right-handed video confuses you, stand the phone facing a mirror and follow the reflection.
