Learning to crochet or knit, when you don't have a close relative that is a expert can be daunting. I have learnt most of the things I know about crochet and knitting either online or on my local yarn shop courses or reading instructions on magazines. It is not rocket science, once you see something you want to know how to do, for a particular project, you find a video or a blog that explains it in detail, if possible with some pictures. Then you practice until you can do it. 

I find youtube particularly useful. I, for instance, enjoyed very much learning how to create mittens there, I must have watched the video 10 times before I dared starting them. I made a few pairs of mittens, until I made one pair that I particularly liked:

Another website I have used a lot is craftsy. When I was starting to crochet I joined an online course to learn how to make amigurumi, from Stacey Trock. You buy the online content and can watch it at your own pace whenever you want. After the course I visited her page several times and bought a few patterns that I was interested in. Knowing how to read her instructions was a plus being a beginner. Her crochet patters are probably the first ones I ever read and understood fully. 

Another source of inspiration are pinterest pictures and facebook groups. People post pictures of their creations and they are often very inspiring. The equivalent to facebook for knitting and crochet, however, is called Ravelry, and I recommend any new crocheter or knitter to join and click around. 

I also took a few lessons on my local yarn shop, just to make sure I had all the bases covered and I had seen the basic strategies at least once done by a professional. It was worth it to gain confidence and I spent a couple of evenings in good company chatting with other like minded ladies.