Crochet Fundamentals will provide you with the foundational skills you’ll need to embark on your crochet journey. We will cover starting off, tension, chain stitch, double, half treble, treble, and cluster stitches. As the course progresses, we will have the option to explore patterns such as shells, waves, and zigzags, as well as colourwork and some textures like puffs and bobbles.

Working on a different stitch each week, we will develop a basic understanding of reading patterns and charts, and will explore the properties of different textile fibres through a research project in small groups. Alongside this, we will discuss how our crafting practices can inform our choices around our consumption of fashion and textiles in our wider lives, and whether understanding how things are made changes our relationship to them.

Students will leave this course with a selection of swatches they have created, alongside worksheets and resources created by the teacher.

This course is suitable for complete beginners, or those looking to revisit the basics.

N.B. No class 27 May.

All materials will be provided but students are advised to bring a notebook and pen.

Cathy Van Hear is a textile artist and crochet specialist based in Brighton. She has 7 years of experience teaching workshops, courses, and classes at venues such as Make Town, Morley College, and the Southbank Centre as well as in collaboration with Brainchild Festival and Bestival.

In her classes, she balances technical skill development and the joy of creating to build both technical and creative confidence in her students. Her studio practice focuses on crochet, but also includes stitch, natural dyeing, quilting, and surface manipulation. Using these traditional craft techniques, she delves into the tapestry of human experience, unravelling threads of identity, belonging, and self-discovery.