Hooked On Crochet Original

Experience the Project

Overview

The Audience

  • Complete beginners eager to learn the fundamentals of crochet

Responsibilities

  • Storyboarding the course structure and lessons
  • Designing hand-drawn visuals tailored for instructional goals
  • Recording video tutorials to match the appropriate learning pace
  • Oversaw video editing to ensure alignment with course objectives and clarity for learners
  • Developing clear and user-friendly course materials
  • Conducting beta and alpha testing with participants to gather feedback
  • Incorporating feedback into course revisions for enhanced clarity and support

Tools Used

  • Mural to create a course structure flowchart
  • Canva for designing course materials and stroyboarding layouts
  • Google Classroom for hosting and delivering the course
  • Affinity Designer for creating hand-drawn visuals
  • ezgif to create crochet stitch GIFs
  • iPhone to record crochet tutorials

High-LEvel

Project Summary

This beginner-level crochet course, hosted on Google Classroom, guides new learners through crochet fundamentals in a structured and engaging way. Covering essential topics like yarn, hooks, tools, and basic stitches, the program includes text-based and video tutorials, alongside practice sessions and a final hat-making project to reinforce skills. Every element, from the hand-drawn stitch guides to interactive assessments and GIF tutorials, was crafted to simplify the learning experience, while rubrics in each module allow students to self-assess their progress. Created as part of my master’s coursework, this was my first full instructional design project and was an invaluable hands-on learning experience.

The Problem

For complete beginners, learning crochet online can be overwhelming and discouraging due to the scattered, often fast-paced nature of many tutorials, which lack clear, structured guidance. With so many options available on platforms like YouTube, beginners often feel unsure about where to start and struggle to find tutorials that offer a gradual, stress-free learning path. This lack of structured encouragement leads many to give up, feeling frustrated and unsupported. The Hooked on Crochet course aims to address these challenges by creating a comprehensive, beginner-friendly resource with clear instruction, supportive pacing, and built-in encouragement to foster confidence and ease in learning crochet.

The Solution

To create a supportive and stress-free learning experience for beginners, Hooked on Crochet provides a clear, structured course that eliminates the guesswork about where to start. The course is designed with carefully paced tutorials, where each lesson builds on the previous one, helping learners progress confidently without feeling overwhelmed. Step-by-step video instructions, accompanied by animated GIFs, allow beginners to watch each stitch slowly and repetitively, ensuring they can fully grasp the techniques at their own speed. Additionally, the course emphasizes encouragement, with rubrics and progress check-ins to keep learners motivated and engaged as they gain confidence in their crochet skills.

My Process

Click any section header to jump to a detailed breakdown of that topic.

Planning

I outlined the course structure and created a storyboard to ensure each lesson built upon the previous one while considering user-friendly materials despite the limitations of Google Classroom’s design.

Development

I designed hand-drawn visuals tailored for instructional goals, created a user-friendly layout to enhance clarity and support throughout the course, and recorded video tutorials to ensure they were at the perfect pace for someone learning to crochet.

Feedback & Testing

I conducted both beta and alpha testing with five participants each, receiving positive and constructive feedback.

Results & Takeaways

Positive feedback from testing highlighted the course’s success, inspiring me to enhance the program further by transitioning to an interactive video format for the new version.

Planning

My planning focused on creating a learning experience that makes crochet accessible and enjoyable for beginners, reducing the overwhelm that often comes with learning through scattered online resources like YouTube. Recognizing that crochet is a hands-on skill with complex stitching that machines can’t replicate, I wanted to preserve this art form by teaching the foundational skills and techniques in a clear, sequential way. This involved establishing learning outcomes that would ensure learners could identify the essential tools, follow patterns, and practice the core crochet stitches confidently. I initially set a timeline but kept it flexible to accommodate the course requirements for school, allowing adjustments to be made as new tasks or insights arose.

Development

The course development was rooted in ensuring that each component was not only educational but visually supportive and inviting within the constraints of Google Classroom. While Google Classroom limited my ability to customize the look of the course interface, I compensated by focusing on user-friendly and clear course materials. I began by storyboarding the course structure to outline how each lesson would build upon the previous one, reinforcing learning in a step-by-step progression. Designing hand-drawn visuals allowed me to align the images closely with the course’s instructional goals, enhancing clarity and providing supportive guidance for each new skill. While I didn’t need to learn new technological skills for this project, I applied instructional design techniques I’d been studying, focusing on how each visual and layout choice would support learners in achieving the course objectives.

Feedback & Testing

I conducted two rounds of testing—beta and alpha—with five participants each to gather detailed feedback on course clarity and effectiveness. In the beta phase, I received valuable feedback on the Crochet Basics section, specifically regarding the need for enhanced explanations and examples. I addressed this by incorporating more images and detailed visuals into the course. Although I received suggestions during alpha testing for adding encouragement in the Double Crochet section to reduce frustration with this challenging stitch, I was unable to implement these changes in the Google Classroom course due to the structure of my Instructional Design and Technology program. However, I plan to address these improvements in the new version of the course that I am currently developing, ensuring that learners will have a smoother and more supportive learning experience.

Feedback From Testers
Jeff CJeff C
Much of this content just adds value in the pursuit to help a varied audience accomplish the goal of understanding and being able to execute the basics of crocheting.
Angel RAngel R
High production value, easy to understand voice over, clear instructions, proper sequence of skills to build confidence, positive encouragement in course documents, and a wealth of information in supporting documents.
Robyn C.Robyn C.
I love having everything in one place.
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Results & Takeaways

The positive responses and constructive feedback during the testing phases affirmed the course’s impact and success in supporting beginners in learning crochet. Completing the project was incredibly fulfilling, as it was my first instructional design project, and I saw the course come to life as a cohesive, valuable resource for new crocheters. Since this project, I’ve expanded my skills in course design through projects at work, which inspired me to enhance this course with more interactive elements. While text-based content proved useful for initial development, I now aim to revamp the course into a more interactive video format, recognizing that this approach can keep learners more engaged. Text-based courses still have their place for concise topics, but when dealing with complex skills, interactivity is key to maintaining interest and retention.

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