Amy Wells - DIY MEGA Bundle: Amazing DIY Hacks and Crafts for Beginners

I love crochet hooks. I suppose you could say that I am a bit of a collector. Personally, I stick to using the hooks that once belonged to my grandmother. They are aluminum hooks. Youll find crochet hooks that are aluminum. Youll see some that are plastic or acrylic. Youll see some that are made from wood. Those are the most common types. So, which should you use? My general rule of thumb as someone with almost 35 years of crocheting under my belt is to buy the type that feel best to you. I use aluminum because, as I said, they belonged to my grandmother, but thats not the only reason. They are smooth and that helps the yarn move well. Ive tried plastic hooks. Theyre okay for the most part. Yet, if they get a chip in the plastic, your yarn could snag on it. Wooden hooks are generally the most expensive (but they are beautiful). You might also want to get some comfort grips. They look like the little padded pencil holders. They are sold by the crochet hooks. The only downside to those is that they usually cover the size indicator of the hook.

Speaking of size, lets talk about exactly which crochet hooks you should buy. Crochet hooks are sold in both millimeter and American sizes. When I say American sizes, I mean that they have letters on them. The hook sizes you should buy to start out with are E, F, G, H, I, J, P, Q, and S. And P, Q, and S are going to be really, really big (and you will likely only find those in plastic).

Generally speaking, the smaller the hook (E and below), the finer the yarn you will use because your stitches will be smaller. There are much smaller hooks that E hooks, but you would usually use thread for those. To avoid frustration, you shouldnt start with thread crochet (although it is amazingly beautiful). An E hook is commonly used when you are making toys or something for a baby like booties or a blanket. As the hook letters move up the alphabet, they also move up in size. An S hook is sometimes referred to in a pattern as a speed hook. This is because of its size and because you would most often use it with two or three strands of yarn at once. It just works up faster than traditional crochet.