How to Learn to Crochet: Are the Woobles worth the hype?

If you want to skip ahead to my description of the Woobles, scroll down a bit. If you want to hear my story about how I bumbled awkwardly into a passion I now love, and the way Woobles was the key for that, I am here to gab.

I first tried to crochet as a hobby in the middle of peak lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic. I was lonely and bored. I got a random pretty skein, a set of random cheap hooks, and pulled up some YouTube videos.

This turned out to not really work for me. I couldn’t figure out how to do anything and I gave up. It did not make me feel better — now I was also bad at crafts. Yikes.

Fast forward a few years, and I saw an ad for the Woobles on Facebook, and I decided to give it a try. And then, to my surprise, it worked. Something finally clicked.

There are plenty of people out there who have learned to crochet with a random skein, hook, and Youtube videos. There are also plenty of people out there whose first amigurumi is super cute, with no holes, and everything is symmetrical. Meanwhile, this was my very first Woobles crochet project:

However, I did learn enough to keep going and get better. Today I’m pretty decent!

If you are tight for cash or feeling confident, you can stop at your local craft store and enjoy the many free resources on the internet (including the resources I’m making for you). At this blog, I’m going to put together all the information I can to help you. If you succeed, I’ll be so happy for you. Really.

But if you struggle in the beginning, like I did, and are having a hard time following along, consider the Woobles.

Why are the Woobles a great way to learn for those who don’t seem to be getting off the ground?

Beginner-friendly yarn. Normal yarn is not beginner-friendly.
This is because:

• Normal yarn splits easily if you’re a beginner. Most yarn is made of several strands wrapped together. If you’re not sure what you’re doing, you can easily stick your hook in a way that causes it to split. This yarn challenge happened to me when I first tried to learn a few years prior — my yarn frayed horribly from my failed attempts. I think, in retrospect, that’s actually what caused me to fail and give up. You might be fine and not encounter this, but if this sounds familiar to you as a challenge, consider easier yarn.
• Normal yarn is harder to see, especially for darker colors. Even some experienced crocheters use headlights to see their stitches with black yarn.

All but the most talented beginners would benefit from doing their first few small projects with the Woobles Easy Peasy yarn. You can get it as part of any of their kits, or you can buy some from their Amazon store. The Yarn is worsted (weight 4) weight, which is the easiest to start with in my experience. I’ve read there are other types of beginner friendly yarn online that are cheaper, but I only link to things I’ve personally tried here, and I’ve moved beyond beginner friendly yarn at this point. You can try joining beginner Facebook groups, or asking on reddit, if you’d like recommendations for cheap alternatives.

1. Clear step by step instructions for each pattern. The Woobles has very thorough step-by-step instructions with short video clips you can pause and rewind. They also have a PDF you can download to print out when you’re on the go.
2. Good YouTube Content. I continued to reference their fantastic YouTube channel long after I moved past their kits and patterns.
3. Friendly for Left-Handers. One of the only beginner resources I’ve found that are friendly to those who are left-handed!
4. Pre-started Magic Ring. The “Magic Ring” is the very starting round of most amigurumi patterns and it is the bane of most beginners’ journeys. It took me over six months to learn to be able to make a decent magic ring. Having this pre-started helped me focus on the fun fundamentals.
5. Tutorials on Fixing Mistakes. They have pages dedicated to helping you troubleshoot where you’re going wrong. You can also e-mail for support, but I never used this resource.

What comes in a Woobles kit?
Everything you need for your first project. I recommend getting the crochet hook it comes with — it’s fairly ergonomic. It also comes with safety eyes, stuffing, a tapestry needle, stitch markers, and a generous amount of the yarn you’ll need. If you run out, they’ll send you more. Because of how beginner friendly the yarn is, you likely won’t find yourself having to cut and start over like you would with normal yarn, but it’s nice to know there’s considerable slack for mistakes in the amount of yarn they provide you.

I review the Woobles hook along with three other brands here: How To Buy A Crochet Hook.

Woobles Patterns

I bought two bundles from Woobles, which meant six patterns in total. I reviewed them here in the order I did them.

This is my ranking from easiest to most difficult of the ones I did.

1. Pattern vs Reality 4: Miffy

Miffy was hands down the easiest Wooble I made. It is an excellent first project.

2. Pattern vs Reality 1: The Woobles Narwhal

So I struggled with the fins, the tail, and the horn. He still came out pretty cute, though, especially if you look at him from afar.

3. Pattern vs Reality 2: The Woobles Dinosaur

If I hadn’t totally botched his eyes, I think he wouldn’t look half bad.

4.Pattern vs Reality 3: The Woobles Unicorn

I made this for a friend’s child. Several months after this gift she declared that I was “the best person”. This was my masterpiece and you can’t tell me otherwise.

5. Pattern v. Reality 5: The Woobles Tulip

I’ve done several flower or plant patterns since then, and doing this tulip helped me succeed. It introduces fairly different stitch patterns than the others.

6. Pattern v. Reality 6: Chinese Lantern

The main part of the lantern is not difficult, but the tassel was a challenge that I was not prepared for. We still hang it up at home though. I asked my fiancee why he was willing to hang it up despite the busted tassel. He said I told him it was lucky.