Crochet Hooks Tips

Crochet Hook Sizes

Both letters and numbers are used to tell you the size of a crochet hook, though, with the small steel hooks used for creating lace and crocheting thread, only numbers are used. The "basic" hooks range from D to K (or 3.25 mm to 6.50 mm), which go from smaller to larger. Unfortunately, even though this sounds like a system of ensuring uniform hook sizes, the same size hook can actually vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so please take the time to get to know your hooks and crochet those gauge squares in order to ensure that your crochet items come out the right size!

Anatomy of the Hook

The crochet hook obviously is the single most important tool you are going to be using to crochet. All crochet hooks are not created alike, so here are some basic features of a crochet hook that you need to know about in deciding the type of hook that you want to use. There is no right or wrong type of crochet hook -- the choice of the type of crochet hook to use is very personal, so I would recommend experimenting with the different variations to decide which ones you like best.

A crochet hook has a head, a throat, a shaft, maybe a thumb rest, and a handle. The head will be either round or flat (also called "in-line"). Some crocheters prefer the round head because it is a little pointier and makes entering stitches easier; some prefer the flat head because it can make catching and pulling through the yarn easier. The throat of the hook starts from the indent of the head and tapers out to the round, uniform part of the shaft. Whether round or flat head, it is the width of the shaft that determines the size number of the hook and thus the size of the stitches you make. The shaft measures about an inch to an inch and a half in length from the head to the thumb rest, if there is one. Many hooks have thumb rests or an indentation at this point in the hook to make the hook easier to hold and to keep the hook from shifting in your hand while you are crocheting. The remaining part of the hook is called the handle, and a regular crochet hook is usually about six inches in length (as opposed to a Tunisian crochet hook, which is usually much longer) .

Ouch!

It's tempting to just throw your project into your bag when you're tired of working on it, but you might have a painful reminder when you reach back in later! To protect your needles and hooks (and yourself) when not in use, get some point protectors the next time you are in the craft store or your LYS, but in the mean time, you can use those pink erasers that fit on the end of a pencil. Your needle or hook might not fit snuggly, but you can jam it on enough that it will stay in place.

Crochet Hook Starter Kit

Beginners have asked me which hook(s) they should buy when first learning to crochet. If you're going to buy just one hook, the H hook is probably the most common and versatile hook to get. It is the hook that you will use to crochet with worsted weight yarn. I would also recommend considering a kit that includes at least 5 hooks (E, F, G, H, and I) because those hooks will cover the range of yarn from lighter weight DK yarn (the E and F hooks) to a bulkier, heavy worsted weight yarn (the I hook) and help you discover if you are a tight or loose crocheter and what kind of yarn weight/crochet hook combinations you like working with.

Two Heads

Crochet hooks basically come with one of two types of head: a round head or a flat head (also known as in-line). As the name suggests, the round head crochet hook is more rounded, with a bit of a pointy top, and seems to allow for easier entry into a stitch. Boye is the most popular manufacturer of round head crochet hooks. The flat head has a more slanted throat area and makes it easier to catch the yarn and pull it through a stitch. Susan Bates hooks are flat heads.

The Material Hook

Crochet hooks can be made out of so many different types of material. Older hooks were made from wood, bone, metal, and even ivory or different shells. Most hooks today are made of aluminum, bamboo, plastic, and even glass. You can find crochet hooks these days with ergonomic handles and ones that light up from inside!

Steel Hooks

Steel hooks are usually the tiny ones that are used with crochet thread to make lace, filet crochet, or other small items. These hooks have their own numbering systems as well, with US, UK/Canadian, and metric sizes all being different. To give you a sense of the sizes, a size 13 (US) steel hook is a .75mm hook, which is the same as a size 7 (UK/Canadian) hook and is considered one of the smallest hooks available.