Monday, October 13, 2014

Mastering Foundation Crochet Stitches Class

If you're anything like me and you've been crocheting for hundreds of years (ok, maybe it just feels like hundreds of years), you get really excited to discover something new. About ten years ago, a good friend of mine was working on her first book. She was a little overwhelmed so I offered to do some of her stitching. She happily agreed and then proceeded to tell me that I needed to use foundation crochet for some of the designs. What?!! I'd never even heard of foundation crochet much less possess the knowledge of how to do it. Well, as luck would have it, Marty Miller, who is actually the "Queen of Foundation Stitches", lives pretty close to me and offered to teach me what I needed to know. How lucky is that?


I couldn't believe I had been crocheting for so long and didn't know about this wonderful technique which makes crochet life so much quicker and easier and I've used them ever since. What I didn't know was that there is so much more you can do besides the basic stitches! I have had the pleasure of reviewing Marty's new Craftsy class, "Mastering Foundation Crochet Stitches" and have now discovered a wealth of new information!


Marty is a wonderful teacher, very patient and thorough. She is always a favorite at the CGOA conferences. What's even better about this online class is that you can refer back to it as many times as you need to which is really fantastic since there is so much valuable information to take in!

So let me give you a run down of what the class includes. There are seven complete lessons! Wow! That is a lot of class for the money!

Lesson 1 is extended vs. foundation. I really like Marty's approach to first teach extended stitches which really are foundation stitches just worked into another row of stitches. This allows people to first work into stitches (which is always easier when you are learning) and then takes them on to foundation stitches in the next lesson. And Marty doesn't just show you one or two stitches, she goes through the whole list from single crochet to treble crochet with step-by-step instructions and excellent visuals.

Lesson 2 then goes over the basic foundation stitches.

Lesson 3 shows you how to now use the foundation stitches that you have learned.

Lesson 4 is eyelets and my absolute favorite! This is so ingenious and I could smack myself for not having thought of it myself years ago! At this point, I had to pause my class and immediately grab my hook and yarn to give it a try. I worked V-stitches into this particular foundation eyelet which was so quick and simple. I have a lot of ideas to use this method in some of my future designs.


Lesson 5 explains how to use foundation stitches in pattern.

Lesson 6 is foundation stitches in filet, mesh and more.

And lastly, lesson 7 teaches tunisian, colorwork and beyond.

Are you getting excited to check this class out? You certainly won't be sorry! There are very clear, detailed instructions for so many different techniques and variations! I truly enjoyed this class and I am very excited to use all the new information that I learned. You can start learning too right now! Just head over to Craftsy and here is the link that will take you directly to Marty's class Mastering Foundation Crochet Stitches.