Upcycling with Crochet for Beginners
A course by Emma Friedlander-Collins, Crochet and Upcycling Expert
Joined November 2019
Transform your wardrobe using basic crochet techniques
Joined November 2019
Reinvent the world around you with colorful patterns, and give new life to unused clothes through upcycling. Using simple crochet techniques, this course will give you the necessary knowledge to upgrade your unused garments into unique pieces of clothing. Upcycling champion Emma Friedlander Collins, better known as Steel and Stitch, shares her passion and talent for enhancing unwanted apparel into special favorites.
In this course, you will learn how to transform a pair of flip flops into cozy, contemporary slippers to jumpstart your upcycling adventure, and explore the multitude of possibilities that upcycling with crochet can bring to your wardrobe.
What will you learn in this online course?
20 lessons & 23 downloads
What's included in this course?
Emma starts the course by talking about her passion for making things, how she started creating crochet patterns, which led her to become an upcycling champion, now sharing her crafting powers with the world. She also shares the artists and places that inspire her creations.
Discover the versatility of the granny square and the half square that you will be using to create your slippers, and how it can be applied to other things with Emma’s own upcycling examples to inspire you.
Identify the different types of yarn and hooks, learning their combinations to create specific effects. Then, begin to crochet by learning basic crochet stitches: chain, single crochet, double crochet, increasing and decreasing stitches. You will also learn how to make holes in different types of fabrics to upcycle with crochet.
Create a color palette with the yarn you will use for your crochet slippers, as Emma shares her methods and resources for creating ideal color combinations.
Once you have your yarn colors defined, start to make your first granny square, learning step-by-step how to join on a new color and work further rounds. Next, learn how to crochet a half square, while discovering Emma’s best practices along the way.
Bring together your crochet pieces and start preparing your flip flop, learning how to stitch the squares together with a whip stitch and attach them onto the sole. Go through the final steps with Emma to finish your slippers, and discover different ways to customize your slippers with pompoms and more.
- 99% positive reviews (213)
- 5,394 students
- 20 lessons (2h 28m)
- 23 additional resources (2 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
The final project will be to create a pair of contemporary slippers from a pair of flip flops using a crochet granny square and two half squares.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is ideal for those who want to learn basic crochet techniques, as well as those wanting to learn more about upcycling and work crochet into other materials.
Requirements and materials
You don’t need any previous knowledge in crochet to take this course.
The tools and materials you will need are a crochet hook, suitable sized yarn, a yarn needle, a pair of flip flops, strong scissors, a bodkin or sharp-pointed tool, a knitting needle the same size as your crochet hook.
Reviews
Emma Friedlander-Collins
A course by Emma Friedlander-Collins
Emma Friedlander Collins, better known as Steel and Stitch, has been creating with the use of materials that surround her ever since she can remember, and is now a reference in the world of upcycling and crochet. Self-taught in the art of crochet through online tutorials, Emma understands how powerful learning a creative skill can be, and has crafted an entire career through creating patterns, books, and tutorials to enhance the world of those who want to learn her colorful art.
Her mission is to inspire people in getting more involved in crafts and upcycling, to help tackle the environmental issues we face today. Emma teaches Visual Promotion for students in Fashion Communication in Brighton and creates content related to her craft for various online platforms including LoveCrafts on YouTube, her own Instagram account @steelandstitch that has over 30k followers, among others. She has featured in publications from The Guardian in LoveCrochet, contributed to magazines such as Mollie Makes and Simply Crochet, and wrote several books to teach her patterns and techniques.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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Introduction
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Influences
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What We Will Do on the Course
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U2
How to Crochet
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Choosing Yarn
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Choosing the Hooks and Other Tools
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Chain and Slip Stitch
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Double Crochet
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Treble Crochet
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Increasing and Decreasing
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How Crochet Can Be Used for Upcycling
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U3
Design
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Choosing Colours
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How to Read a Pattern
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Making a Square - Part I
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Making a Square - Part II
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Making a Half Square
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How to Prepare the Flip-Flop
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Crochet into Flip-Flop
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Stitching Everything Together!
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U4
What's Next for Your Slippers?
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Customise Your Flip-Flops
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How to Care for Your Slippers
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FP
Final project
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Introduction to Crochet
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Yes, this course is designed for beginners and covers foundational crochet stitches, pattern reading, and basic techniques, making it ideal for those with no prior experience.
You’ll need yarn, a crochet hook, scissors, a yarn needle, and some old garments if you want to try upcycling. The course also recommends ergonomic hooks and provides guidance on selecting appropriate yarn types.
You’ll learn basic crochet stitches, how to read and write patterns, sustainable crochet and upcycling techniques, making granny squares, embellishments like pom poms and tassels, and how to sell crochet patterns or content online.
Yes, the course covers upcycling clothing and accessories with crochet, including crocheting edges onto t-shirts, modifying footwear, and repairing or customizing old garments.
The course emphasizes sustainable crochet techniques, upcycling, and choosing eco-friendly materials, helping you reduce waste and create unique, long-lasting garments and accessories.
Yes, you’ll learn how to compare cotton, wool, and acrylic yarns, interpret yarn labels, select fiber types, understand yarn weight, and match hooks to yarns for different projects.
Yes, the course teaches you to interpret both UK and US crochet pattern terminology, read charts, and write your own patterns for sharing or selling online.
Es un curso muy facil de seguir, ideal para empezar a tejer
A clear course. well explained. i finally understood granny squares. Hope to hve more courses from "Steel & Stitch" Emma Friedlander-Collins!
Muy bueno, soy un queso y lo entendí. De hecho arreglé una ojota! Creo que todo lo de Upcycling suma un montòn es muy motivador para intervenir la ropa que por algún motivo no usamos.
Esta genial y muy bien explicado sobre todo.
Simple and funny! I loved it!