Ultimate beginners guide to crochet hooks – 3 basic aspects you need to know

What is a Crochet hook?

But I am still glad that my grandma bought those for me. Because that is how my wonderful crochet journey started. Later my Aunt gifted me a set of Boye crochet hooks which I still cherish. That was when I realised that crochet hooks do matter a lot specially when you are starting to learn. Because later on I guess It becomes your instinct to select or reject any hook within first few minutes of use.

That being said let me get back to the point. What is a crochet hook.

A crochet hook is a round shaft with a hook at one end which is used to make loops in thread or yarn to create patterns that are called stitches.

Size of a crochet hookCrochet hooks are sized in mm. The thicker the yarn the bigger mm hook you will need to use.

In various brands the various crochet hooks are marked by different numbers of alphabets with the mm measurements. But with time I learned that it is always better to identify the hook by it measurement rather than the alphabet or the number as measurement is universal and will work in every brand across the globe.

When we talk about crochet there are a whole lot of things that you can create. Many projects are crocheted with yarns like bags, scarves, shawls etc. But some delicate work is done with threads like cotton or silk. For both of these crochet hook is the same but the size varies.

For thread you’ll usually get steel hooks which are really small. The smallest hook that I own is 0.35mm. These steel hooks go till 1.75mm and the from 2 mm the yarn hooks start. There is no line which separates yarn and thread but the common thumb rule would be to use hooks till 1.75mm or smaller than 2mm for threads and then go for bigger hooks for yarns. But there are always exceptions.

Crochet hook anatomy

Any crochet hook has 5 parts to it.

1. Head
2. Throat
3. Shaft
4. Grip
5. Handle

1. Inline
2. Tapered

Both the types have their pros and cons. Inline hooks have deeper grooves in the head which makes it easier to hold the yarn and usually have a pointier head which makes it easier to go between the stitches. But it all depends on the personal preference. If you are just starting out experiment with both of the types and see which one you like more. I personally like the tapered hooks more.😊

Type of hook based on material

Based on the material with which the hook is made crochet hooks come in:

1. Steel
2. Aluminium
3. Plastic
4. Bamboo
5. Wood
6. Metal with silicon handles(ergonomic)
7. Resin (light up hooks)

1. Steel crochet hooks

• Finest hooks
• .35mm to 1.75mm (usually) Used to make delicate lace
• To be worked with fine threads
• Suitable for intermediate and advance levels

2. Aluminium crochet hooks

• Medium to large hooks,Usually 2mm and up
• To be used with all types of yarns
• Cheaper and easy to maintain
• Comes in attractive range of colours
• Suitable for beginners

3. Bamboo crochet hooks

• Made from natural bamboo
• To be used with care
• Sizes 2mm to 10mm
• Require maintaining for longer life of hooks
• Used with all types of yarns
• Suitable for all levels of crocheters

4. Wood crochet hooks

• Made from Rose wood, maple or teak
• To be used with care
• Sizes 2mm to 10mm
• Expensive than most other hooks
• Charm to work with
• Require maintaining for longer life of hooks
• Suitable for all levels of crocheters
• Used with all types of yarns

5. Plastic crochet hooks

• Bigger hooks
• Usually 5mm and up
• To be used with thicker yarns
• Cheaper and easy to maintain
• Comes in attractive range of colours
• Suitable for beginners

6. Ergonomic crochet hooks

• Medium to large hooks
• Usually 2mm and up
• To be used with all types of yarns
• Soft grip or wider handles
• Suitable for painful joints
• Suitable for beginners

7. Resin(Light up crochet hooks)

• Medium to large hooks
• Usually 2mm and up
• To be used with all types of yarns
• Suitable to work with darker color yarns
• Suitable for work at night
• Suitable for beginners

Type of hooks based on technique

Regular hooks

All the types of hooks that I mentioned above are the regular crochet hooks which come in different sizes and materials.

Tunisian hooks

1. Tunisian straight hooks

• Used for tunisian crochet projects
• Comes in sizes 2mm to 10mm
• Made from different materials- steel, Bamboo, Aluminium
• Makes projects like shawls, dishcloths, cushions
• Comes in sizes 2mm to 10mm

2. Tunisian straight double ended hooks

• Used for Tunisian projects
• Sizes 2mm and up
• Made from different materials- steel, Bamboo, Aluminium
• Makes projects like shawls, dishcloths, cushions
• Usually used to work in rounds
• Used for making two color fabrics
• Suitable for all levels of crocheters
• Used with all yarns

3. Cabled single ended afghan hooks

• Used for tunisian projects
• Sizes 2mm to 10mm
• Made from different materials- steel, Bamboo, Aluminium
• Makes bigger projects like shawls, blankets, throws
• Suitable for all levels of crocheters
• Used with all yarns

4. Cabled double ended afghan hooks

• All features of cabled afghan hooks
• Used for color work projects
• Suitable for all levels of crocheters

5. Knook

Knook is a crochet hook with a hook on end and a hole in the other. To work with it you need to pass the yarn through the hole and the make stitches just like knitting.

However, Tunisian crochet is a technique that looks like knitting but knook is a tool that actually knits with the help of a hook. The fabric created is actually a knitted stitch fabric. I can also knit and have been doing it for a while now. so this tool fascinated me when I first discovered it. Though I could not learn and use it. I will definitely give it a try again and then I will share about it in another blog post.

This is more or less everything that I learned about crochet hooks. Some of it I learned the hard way.

In conclusion I hope this post will help you understand the crochet hook in general when there is such a huge range of hooks available out there.