Can you crochet with only one hand? The answer is yes, yes you can!
Everything is impossible until you find a way. Then everything can be possible because you found that way.
How It All Started
My sister is always trying new hobbies. From knitting to making Rainbow Looms, to creating polymer clay earrings, she’s done it all. Her room in our previous home used to be a jungle of her yarn scattered everywhere, her polymer clay boxes stacked on top of each other, all over and under shelves. Her room was a bit messy because of that, but it also invited a comforting sense of home whenever you entered her room.
So when she started to crochet, I was intrigued as I always am. Seeing your younger sister make so many arts and crafts, making elegant pieces of artwork, anyone would be a little envious. I learn that crochet was similar to knitting but also totally different. My sister could use crochet to create lots of other clothing, bags, and even clothes for our stuffed animals. The possibilities are endless.
And I wanted to try this too. If you have read my How to Knit with One-Hand, you will hear how I started to knit one-handed. Click on the link to read more.
Before I started to crochet, I already knew how to knit. I’ve made a couple of items since I started, but now I wanted to crochet. I wanted to create many things using crochet.
Why am I crocheting with one hand?
But there was only one problem, a big one actually. I can only use my left hand. Crochet requires two hands. One way is to hold to the yarn while the other hand holds the crochet hook. Weaving the crochet hook through, under, and over the yarn to make a crochet piece. Just like knitting, which I thought would be impossible to adapt to one hand, maybe I can find a way.
My right side, from head to toe, is weak. I had a hemiplegic stroke about 9 years ago. since then, I couldn’t move my right side at all. Meaning I can’t move my hand, fingers, and wrist by themselves, and I would require my left hand to help me. My arm also has a limited range of motion, and it can’t do much until it starts hurting. So I can not use my right arm and hands to help me crochet.
The same question I ask myself every time I’m hit with a task that requires two hands is, can I do crocheting with one hand? Is it possible? I felt my stomach curl up inside and feeling my mouth dry when I thought of this. What if I find nothing? What if I search on YouTube and there is no content found about an ultra-specific topic?
I took a deep breath and forced myself to start researching. I will never know if I don’t even try. YouTube was the first place I looked.
There must be a way, there has to be.
The internet and YouTube saved the day!
And there it was. I felt such a breath of relief that there were so many people who already solved this question if you can crochet with one hand. I was so excited to watch all the videos about crocheting because I realized, I’m one step closer to my dream of crocheting amazing things. That made me excited!
There were many videos where the person had their arm to help them, and unfortunately, my arm is way too weak to help me. I needed to find something different. Another video of someone who is not using their arm. After researching on the web and YouTube, I came across this video and I thought maybe this is something that could finally work.
It might work, I kept telling myself, and it absolutely did work.
Here is the video if you are interested. I will also leave the link right here if you can’t access the video.
They used a DIY adaptive crochet aid. There were lots of tools, screws, and bolts I don’t even know. It was very promising, and I couldn’t wait to make it and test it out.
My parents helped me make this dream become a reality
And so, I got my parents to help because I couldn’t make this adaptive device all by myself. We discussed what steps there were to build the device. The device in the video. But my mom and dad had other plans to make it better. They’re actually engineers, mostly joking, but they thought of some really cool ways to make my adaptive crochet aid.
So off to Home Depot we go. Home Depot is a hardware store chain with all the trinkets you’ll need to build a crochet device. For the equipment we needed to build my crochet aid, I wanted just to follow what the video suggested because I didn’t think out of the box for this one. But my parents were on another level. After a half day in Home Depot, (it felt like half a day), we bought all the materials we needed. It was time to brew together all the ingredients to make a crochet device. I was super elated during the whole process.
There were a few changes that my parents made to my adaptive crochet aid that made my crochet aid different from the one in the video. My dad has a broken portable clip-on fan from years ago, that was stored away. He thought of using that as the base of the structure. Here is an image of what I’m talking about.
The brand name is Genesis. The portable clip-on fan could be separated into two parts. The base is a clip (as shown on the right) and the fan is attached to a bottom piece. We will only be using the clip.
My mom thought of attaching a piece of wood to the clip and drilling a hole so I can put a crochet hook through the hole. Honestly, best invention ever. I’m so thankful that my parents were able to help and went beyond of I could when making the design of my crochet aid.
A year ago I also contacted the Genesis brand to see if the manufacturer sold the clip only. I was finding a way where it would be possible for someone to make this exact device. They responded via email that the cost of the clip is $30 USD. I’m Canadian, so converting it to Canadian dollars would just make it more expensive. It’s even cheaper if you buy the whole fan instead of the clip. So, unfortunately, I couldn’t make a replica of the first design.
Why did I want a replica of the first design?
I was trying to see if there was any way for someone else to make it too. I would make a video showing how I made my second, detailing all the steps from going to the hardware stores to using power tools to make it.
My first YouTube video of me crocheting
A month passed, and I’m really happy with my crochet aid. In the beginning, my sister and mom taught me most of the things about how to make a chain and to single crochet and double crochet and stuff like that. My mom did not do any crocheting but was happy to help me in whatever way she could. My sister, on the other hand, could crochet, which helped me the most. I’m here writing this article mostly because of her guidance and help in doing crochet.
I was getting the hang of it and I wanted to share with the world my journey to adapting crochet to one hand. Like I’ve said before, there weren’t many videos on YouTube where they only crocheted with one hand. I would like to fill that gap in case someone is in a similar as I am, to find resources to crochet.
I posted my first-ever timelapse on my YouTube channel imhelenzhou. (I’m Helen Zhou) And trust me, I was so scared, could not make a talking head video. I couldn’t even do a voiceover video explaining the overall steps to making the crochet piece. Terrified as I was, I posted my first video. I really wanted to show people how to crochet using the only one-handed way.
Putting yourself out there
That was the first video ever on my channel imhelenzhou, and after a few more videos, there was no one viewing them. So I stopped making videos.
Silly me didn’t know that YouTube is an evergreen platform. Where you can post a video and you might get views for some period of time. And also surprise surprise, as years go by, things like knitting or crocheting should stay the same.
I want people to create what they want even if they need to change the way they do it. Whether they are making amigurumis, bags, or hats, the possibilities are endless.
I hope my channel and my videos inspire you to think outside of the box. To think beyond those limitations, and put your thinking cap on to think about how you can adapt to that task. Everyone is different, and what works for you may not work for me. And vice-versa. I want my channel to shed light on one-handed activities that you thought you couldn’t do.
I know, personally, the videos on YouTube gave me hope that maybe I could do knitting and crocheting because others have done it before. It may seem hard because I’ve never crocheted or knitted before my stroke. I was, basically, starting from scratch with no prior experience. Thanks to my sister’s help, I was able to knit and crochet. Because without her, I don’t think I’ll be writing this Medium article.
Head on to my YouTube channel at imhelenzhou. If you are interested in crocheting with one hand, I have a YouTube series of how you can crochet with one hand using an adaptive crochet device. It’s possible, click on this link to watch my YouTube playlist.
I wish you all the best of luck, and I will chat with you in my next post. Take care, and see you!
