I have decided not to write my own instructions on how to crochet as there are many already out there in books, magazines and on the web. I simply typed how to crochet into google and came up with lots. For those of you who like visual and text I found this website. It takes you picture by picture through the basic way to start crocheting. Each picture has a written description with it. For those who prefer audio as well as video there is this video that takes you through the very basics (sometimes in too much detail!)
For fans of you tube I have also found this video which takes you through some of the simple stitches.
Please note that I have deliberately chosen this site as it covers the uk stitches. The US has differences. I am from the uk so obviously use the UK version. If you are interested and have the knowledge of one version and want to see how they compare here is a chart that shows you:
| US | UK |
|---|---|
| chain(ch) | chain(ch) |
| single crochet (sc) | double crochet (dc) |
| double crochet (dc) | treble (tr) |
| half double crochet (hdc) | half treble (htr) |
| triple crochet (trc) | double treble (dtr) |
| slip stitch (sl st) | slip stitch (sl st)
|
For those of you living in the Cambridge area (UK) there are some beginners classes listed here: Notsogranny. I recommend these as I know people who have been on them! They are great way to spend part of your weekend!
knitnrun4sanity 
thanks for explaining all the acronyms and for the videos! maybe i can try to follow a pattern now, rather than just going around and around and around!
No worries. Good luck with your pattern. Let me know how you get on. 🙂
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