Crochet, Videos

World’s Fastest Crocheter – Jayna Grassel

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:

Thanks Jayna,
I know there is always someone out faster! ☺ Good luck with your speed crocheting!I just want to let you know that I’m not planing to attend any speed challenges.
I hurt my wrist beginning of the year, so I had to slow down crocheting and knitting. But I would love to see you crocheting. Please let me know when you have a video on youtube or any other websiteHave a great week!Lisa

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!

 

7 Comments

  • Lauren Strasser

    December 17, 2011

    Whoa. You rock Jayna. My new goal is to speed crochet now. Love the blog, keep up the good work!

  • Emily Schmidt

    December 18, 2011

    Aww, so close Jayna! I’m sure you’ll get it in no time!!

  • Beth

    December 22, 2011

    In.Credible!! Way to go, so impressive!

  • Patrick

    January 16, 2012

    I’m so taking this challenge. I don’t crochet “traditionally”. I hold the yarn wrong and the hook “wrong” or so I’ve been told. However, I can whip out a scarf of all hdc’s in an hour from a full skein of cotton yarn. So I’m thinking that I could do that… I’ll let you know of my progress!

  • Jessie

    January 18, 2012

    HOLY COW no wonder it takes me forever to get orders done! I move like a turtle compared to you LOL. Kudos!

  • Nichole

    November 8, 2013

    OMG Thats amazing!!!

  • Masashi

    November 11, 2015

    Hi, I know this was posted a while ago but I have been sncharieg high and low for a hat like this. I just wanted a simple one but not 100% plain. I’ve only been crocheting for about a year now & trying to create this hat myself hasn’t worked out so good. My little brother is 2 & I would love it if you emailed me the adjustments so I could crochet this for him. Thanx a lot & I’m happy I discovered your blog because you have a wonderful collection of projects.

Leave a Reply