How to Choose the Right Crochet Hook
By Emilee Gettle – 3 CommentsNow that you’ve decided on your yarn you need to find the perfect match in a hook. Your crochet hook is like a magic wand turning a skein of yarn into a crocheted masterpiece. It can become your best friend and once addicted it will be a tool you simply can’t live without.
Material: Hooks are made from a variety of materials. Years ago our grandmothers would have used an ivory, bone or steel hook. You might be overwhelmed with your choices today from acrylic, steel, bamboo, plastic, aluminum and rosewood there is a perfect hook for everyone. Plastic is the cheapest choice. However, aluminum ranks second in being cost effective. Yarn slides easily on aluminum making it a breeze for beginners to crochet.
Where to buy and what you’ll pay: Crochet hooks are very inexpensive. You can buy an eight hook set for under $10.00. However, if you aren’t ready to make that kind of commitment simply purchase the size you need for your project and then add to your collection over time. You can purchase crochet hooks at any craft store or online. They are incredibly cheap for the years of pleasure and satisfaction they provide.
If you are into antique stores, keep your eyes open for antique hooks. These treasures might just be in your price range. Their age is in your best interest if they are made from bone, ivory or wood. They will be silky smooth from all the years of use.
Finding the perfect size: Your pattern will dictate the hook size you will need. When shopping for crochet hooks it is easy to get confused by all the different sizes. Some hooks are sized by numbers while others are letters. Try to remember that hooks made from aluminum and plastic are sized by the alphabet, A being the thinnest hook and Q the thickest. On the other hand, steel crochet hooks are sized by numerals, 14 being the thinnest and proceeding down the scale to 00 as the thickest. Steel crochet hooks are typically for very fine work like lace doilies. Learn more in the Crochet Hook Sizes post.
Troubleshooting: Okay, so you bought your hook and set to work on your project but something just isn’t looking right. Be sure to check your gauge! It is usually mentioned at the very beginning of your pattern. It might look something like this: 3 dc = 1â€. If your tension is too tight what should be one inch could really be less or if you’re crocheting too loosely you might have the opposite problem. So, try to loosen up, tighten up or get a different sized hook to remedy your gauge problem.
Also, if it seems difficult to keep the yarn in the hook it might be that your hook is just too small for the size yarn you are using. Trying moving up a notch on the scale and see if this fixes the problem.
Do you have any tips on finding the right hook?
There are hooks that are thicker than the Q with S probably being the most seen of the regular hooks. The Moez hooks are quite thick as well. Remember that the hook size on the package label is just a recommendation. Check your gauge or just work a bit with the yarn and see what feels right to you. It also depends on what you’re making. Some items, like purses for example, need a firm stitch and you’d want to use a smaller hook, whereas for others you might want more drape and flow and use a larger hook.
One thing about gauge. If you find your stitch gauge is right but your row gauge is off, then you might not need to switch hooks, but rather just increase the length of your stitch. You do this by pulling up the “golden loop” of your stitch. (Golden Loop – when you insert your hook into a stitch, you yarn over and pull through. The loop that you pull through is called the Golden Loop. To make your stitch longer, you pull it up higher. The important thing is to continue bringing it to the same height throughout your piece. Once you get the hang of it it’s really not difficult.)
The ergonomic Clover Soft Touch hooks Changed my life. I crocheted pretty well and fairly fast with regular Susan Bates and Boye hooks, but the Soft Touch – wow! What a difference.
I crochet much faster now and with less fatigue. I am left handed and I just love those hooks.
I think the shaft on the ST is a bit shorter than the other kinds of hooks- it seems very comfortable for me. I also like how easy it is to crochet smaller circumferences with the ST. It doesn’t seem to catch on the far side of the tube like regular hooks. :0)
Jeannie,
I am also left-handed.
I have my mom’s collection of hooks–her arthritis has put paid to her crocheting–and they are a mixture of Boye and Bates. I do quite well with them but am interested in the hooks you mentioned.
Did you order them from the internet? I’ve never seen that brand in any of the yarn shops I frequent.
Thanks!