Okay, so I might not *technically* be the fastest crocheter in the world, but I know I’m pretty close.  One stitch, to be exact.

The actual record holder for world’s fastest crocheter is Lisa Gentry who set the official record on June 25, 2005.  To set the Guinness World record, Lisa crocheted 28 treble crochet stitches in one minute.

If you’re a fellow crocheter, that should blow your mind. 28 stitches–treble, nonetheless–in one minute.  With the time it takes to transition between each stitch, I didn’t see how that was possible.

Then I came across this video of Lisa crocheting where she explains her precise technique.  And it’s quite sneaky.  You see, you don’t actually crochet a treble crochet into each stitch.  No, no, my friend.  You actually crochet THREE trc into each stitch.  Crazy!  (All you non-crocheters, don’t you judge us and our passions.)  If you listen to Lisa give instructions, you’ll see that she uses worsted weight yarn and a size I-9mm hook.  She starts with a foundation of 25 trc and works her timed trc as the second row.

I had to test it out.

I haven’t timed myself crocheting since I was in highschool (over 5 years ago!) when I made my father stand by the microwave timer, telling him, “Hold on, let me just try it again,” as I ripped out my stitches and would start again.  But now I know I was doing it all wrong!

So I tried again.

If you listen to the videos below, you’ll hear Lisa’s video in the background because I found it’s nice to have the guy give a little countdown and I don’t have to watch my computer screen to see what time it is. The fastest I got was 27 stitches in 1 minute.  One measly little stitch away from Lisa’s 28 stitches (and, might I add, 3 stitches better than the time trial she does in the video).

I e-mailed Lisa Gentry telling her how much I admired her work and that I would would like to challenge her to a crocheting competition, never really expecting to hear back.  She’s a crochet all star.  I got a response from her the same day and she is SUCH a sweetheart.  Here’s what she said:

She is one of my crochet inspirations and I hope to one day be as good as her.  Lisa, if you’re reading this – You’re great!  Thank you for all the work you’ve done to put crocheting on the map and make it cool again.

I will give you two warnings (okay, make it 3):

1. These videos aren’t the greatest quality

2. I have an angry face when I crochet

3.  I also have close to five million chins when I crochet (note to self: never crochet on a date)

But I know you won’t judge me, dear reader, so I’ll share my videos with you now.  I’ll make better ones some day (perhaps when I’m at 28 stitches) and will practice smiling, but for now I hope you enjoy!  To see other JJCrochet crochet videos and tutorials, check me out on Youtube!