Having trouble getting the hang of stitches/magic ring? Practice with a shoelace!

For anyone struggling to get stitches right or figure out the magic ring, try practicing with a round (not flat) shoelace!

It's a cheap alternative to beginner yarn but has all the same properties. It's a good length to use for practicing. It won't fray because the ends are sealed with aglets. It is flexible and gives defined loops of stitches so you can see exactly what you are doing. It can be reused over and over again until you get the hang of the stitch. You can use it to practice any stitch really, and then when you are ready to start/continue your project, you won't end up wasting or frogging yarn over and over again because you just can't get it right.

I recommend using a size 5 or 6 crochet hook to practice with, sinc3 a shoelace is similar in size to a bulky/chunky yarn