First Ever Workshop!

Hosting a learning experience for various age groups can seem like a daunting task. Today, I was able to host my first ever hand-crochet workshop amongst a local church family. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity, as I learned much from it. Here, I would like to take you through some things I've learned, as well as detail the experience.

For my first ever workshop, I barely prepared—other than for the materials of course, which only required some skeins of yarn. I was slightly nervous, as I wasn't exactly sure on how I would explain things. When we started, I mentioned how we have to make our slip knot by looping to look like a breast cancer awareness sign. This random comment lightened the mood, and put me at a bit of an ease, realizing this would be a fun experience. At first, a lot of the participants had questions—does this look right? Did I do this correctly? But over time, as I assured that they were doing well, they became more confident in their newfound skill, and eventually caught the hang of it—quicker than I expected! 

When I started getting flooded with questions and concerns, I realized that I would definitely need to have another set of helping hands as I host workshops elsewhere, especially with a larger group. One of the participants started helping others, although I wasn't surprised as she knew how to crochet a bit. It came to me that, I was only a teenager, and I can only handle so much. There's nothing wrong with getting help. Even though I had already planned to have 2 adults to accompany me through future workshops, this experience only solidified my decision, and I also wanted one of them to be someone who could help teach if many guests were struggling.

It was also interesting to peep at the different styles of each participant—some had looser tension, others were more tight with their stitches, and some took their time, while others sped ahead. It's important as an instructor to work with different these different styles and paces, assuring each individual that even if their creation-in-progress doesn't look like the other ones, there is no "right way" and that theirs is perfectly fine and beautiful as is. Although comparison helps to analyze if one is doing something the right way, crochet can be different from person to person, which is why it's often helpful to care more about having done what was required than if something looks "right" in their eyes. 

Overall, everyone finished their creation, finding reward and satisfaction in the fact they were able to learn and create something—especially something so tangible in one session! In the workshop, participants learned how to make a slip knot, chain, and fasten off—which are extremely crucial basics in crochet! 

Through teaching this workshop, I've gained more confidence in my ability to guide others with passion, gentleness, and patience. I'm incredibly thankful to the Lord and to my church family for opening this door for me to host a workshop. On a side note, if you would like to check out their creations, check out this page!