Today you're going to learn one of the most important steps in crocheting a beanie, the increase. An increase does just what the name implies, it makes the beanie bigger. You use increases to make the top of the beanie about as big as the crown of your head (or the head of the lucky recipient of your handmade awesomeness). Then, once you've reached the desired size, you stop increasing, turn on your favorite TV show and tweedle away until your beanie is finished perfection.

So, check out the video below and learn how to do this important step and you're on your way to crochet greatness.

When you master the increase, you can use it in all of my crochet beanie patterns:

Click here for beanie patterns

With this video I'm drinking red clover blossom tea, and I mentioned that I had a funny story about this tea.

I bought the tea when I was doing a health cleanse, because it's supposed to help clear out your system. I ordered it online because I couldn't find it in the store and I wanted to buy the loose leaf variety. Little did I know that when you buy a pound of loose leaf tea it comes in a huge bag! Check out the picture below. I've been drinking this tea for 4 months and I've barely put a dent in this huge bag of tea leaves. So, if anyone wants to try some red clover blossom tea, I've got plenty!

Welcome to Step 2 of crocheting a beanie, the single crochet. In crochet patterns, single crochet is abbreviated as sc.

I love to make beanies with single crochet. The stitches look smooth, tight and beautiful. (Hmmm, that sounds a little dirty, but I'm talking about crochet here! ;) Anyway, single crochet is a basic, easy stitch and it creates awesome results. I use it in most of my patterns so once you nail this stitch, you'll be on your way to making tons of fun projects.

To start your single crochet beanie, you first need to make a magic circle. Now you're ready to do some single crochets into the circle to start the very top of your beanie. See the video below for step-by-step details.

For some people. the magic circle and the first single crochet stitches are the hardest part of the entire beanie. So, take your time and don't get frustrated. Watch the video a few times and follow exactly what I do. Rest assured that your effort is worth it because your beanie is going to look awesome! And, once you've got this part down, the rest of the hat will be easy peasy.

How did it go? Were you able to successfully execute a single crochet stitch? Tell me about it in the comments below! ;)