Hey there, just throwing in my 2¢.
I taught myself to crochet after watching a couple videos. So, it *is* doable (by that I mean if an idiot like myself can learn then you can learn too).
Here’s what I did. I started with red heart acrylic yarn and a hook about 2 steps up from the recommended size. I wrestled my way through the first chain and the second row (single stitch). Once I got up to the fourth row, I would single stitch all the way across, then frog it out and repeat the fourth row over and over until I got somewhat proficient at doing the whole row. The whole while, I was making knots, making incredibly tight stitches, snapping fibers, and cursing (a lot).
My first completed piece was an POS uneven square of single stitches about 40 across and 30ish rows tall. It was a horrible mess, but I stuck to it until I was done.
To sum up, your first attempt should not be aimed at making a complete project, it should be about mindfully watching what you’re doing, making mistakes, figuring out what you did wrong, and learning to avoid the same mistakes as you continue.
TL;DR: have the gumption to suck at something until you learn to suck at it less. Repeat until satisfied.
Once you have the base chain, first and second row of single stitch under your belt, you will have 85% of crochet technique in your hands, the rest is just recombining those hand movements into different groupings to create almost every stitch you will use in crochet.
Why did *I* learn to crochet? My wife liked amagurumi but her visual acuity makes crochet exceedingly difficult for her. So I picked up some hooks and made them for her.
So! Just say “**** it”, jump in with both feet, and start learning. You can do it. Maybe not perfectly right out the gate but soon you’ll be onto scarves, afghans, table runners, then hats and wrist warmers, and then into the weird shapes, crochet in the round, and spending hours hooking up a single doily… 😏
Have at it and don’t give up!
Regards, Ray D.
