Ever since I saw the The Stitchery video where ShannonMakes teaches Charlie to knit by giving here a project that already has a few rows, so that she can practice knitting before learning the hell that is casting on, I’ve thought that it’s the most genius way to teach fiber arts.
Casting on is fiddly af, and new knitters ALWAYS cast on too tight. Giving them a needle with a few inches of stitches on it, in order to let them learn to see the loops and get the muscle memory started for the stitches leaves them better equipped for lesson 2: starting the project. They’ll have a BIT more grasp of yarn tension and control, a bit more idea as to WHY the loops need to be loose enough to get your needle into, etc.
Same for crochet. Many crocheters, even high intermediate ones, will use a larger hook for their starting chain because it’s SO EASY to begin with chains that are too tight. Even if you do a foundation row (which is ALWAYS my preference, fuck a starting chain) your bottom chain is often too tight. Plus, with crochet, there are SO MANY loops to be aware of. Step one: find the V and make a single crochet (repeat for 5 rows) is MUCH less intimidating than starting by going into a chain.
It’s not possible to do this if you’re learning at home, and it would be a LOT of setup if you’re teaching a class of 50, but if you want to teach 1-4 people, this feels like a good way to start.