WOW. I am so, so excited to see how many of you will be joining in on our crochet-along as we make The Calm Cowl by Susana Davidovic. Welcome to each of you, and thank you so much for your enthusiasm. Here we go! Step one: If you haven't done it already, now is the time to download the pattern from Ravelry. It's free, but you will need a Ravelry membership (if you don't have one yet, it's totally worth signing up). Read it over, but don't worry if there are terms you don't recognize – we'll cover it all on the blog, with lots of opportunities for you to ask questions.

                                                       Calm Cowl, photo Susana Davidovic

Step two: Acquire yarn and hook. Ravelry has tons of ideas for yarn, if you haven't decided yet. I went to Mary Maxim last night and picked mine up: four balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK. Love it! Step three: Study up. Like many of you, I'm a novice crocheter, so I've been looking for good resources to help me refresh my memory.

• If you like to look at photos and read at your own pace, try the crochet tutorials at PurlBee. This week, you'll need to read up on making a foundation chain.
• If you like to watch videos, this video on crochet basics will teach you how to hold the hook, tension the yarn and make a slip knot. Watch the next video to learn how to chain stitch (i.e., make a foundation chain).

Step four: Get crocheting! We're following the very first instruction on the pattern here, so you'll need to:

1. Make a slip knot;
2. do the chain stitch until you have the specified number of stitches (if you want to make it longer or shorter, this is the time to crochet more or less);
3.  join the chain into a circle with a sl st (slip stitch) – here's the written how-to; here's a video (you only really need to watch the first minute or so).

 Step five: Check in with us in the comment section. Leave a comment and tell us what yarn and colour you chose, and how the crocheting is going. I can't wait to hear from you. Next week, we'll review the sc (single crochet) and dc (double crochet) before we get started on the next two rounds of the pattern. Happy stitching!