Beginning Crochet Materials

Walking into a craft store when you are starting a new craft can be exhilarating, but also overwhelming! There are rows and rows of shelves with far too many options. How do you know what materials are the right ones to start with? What are some materials to avoid?

This post should help alleviate some of this uncertainty! First, we will look at crochet hooks, and then we will cover some common yarn types.

Beginner Recommendations

This section is here to get you started with bare minimum information, which will be explained further in this post. These are my no-nonsense recommendations for a beginner crochet artist looking to buy their first materials.

3 hooks: Size H/5mm, I/5.5mm, and J/6.0mm

• Aluminum is best for starting out

Medium Weight 4 yarn

• Preferably 100% acrylic or cotton

• As little decorative fibers as possible

• Look for brands like Red Heart Super Saver, I Love This Cotton!, or Lion Brand Heartland

When to ignore this recommendation:

• If you have already picked out a pattern that you want to start making immediately, or if you want to practice with the same stitches and yarn that are in a pattern, ignore this recommendation and choose the yarn and hook suggested by your pattern instead.

• However, the pages in this tutorial will assume that the materials listed above are the ones that will be used.

Crochet Hooks

A variety of hook sizes and materials.

Crochet hooks come in a variety of sizes, made out of a variety of materials. The photo above shows a wooden hook, a plastic hook, and four aluminum hooks, while showing the wide variety of sizes that are available. The measurement of the hook is the diameter of the shaft. [source] The following are some charts for all the commonly manufactured hook sizes available, courtesy of the Craft Yarn Council.

Metric	US	UK
2mm	0	14
2.25mm	B-1	13
2.5mm
2.75mm	C-2	12
3mm		11
3.25mm	D-3	10
3.5mm	E-4
3.75mm	F-5	9
4mm	G-6	8
4.25mm	G (Boye)
4.5mm	7
5mm	H-8	6
5.5mm	I-9	5
6mm	J-10	4
6.5mm	K-10 1/2	3
7mm		2
7.5mm		1
8mm	L-11	0
9mm	M/N-13	00
10mm	N/P-15	000
12mm	O
15mm	P/Q
16mm	Q
19mm	S
25mm	T/U/X

Typically the measurement in millimeters is the best way to identify a hook, as the naming conventions will vary between country and brand. Note that this does not include "Steel Crochet Hooks", which follow a different naming convention and range from 3.5mm to 0.75mm. These tiny hooks are used for delicate lace crochet and tatting, which will not be covered in these posts.

Hook materials can give a wildly different crocheting experience. I recommend aluminum for beginners because these are the same kinds of hooks I use today, nearly a decade after I began. The benefits I find for aluminum hooks are:

• Wide availability - Every craft store has a large selection of sizes for aluminum hooks

• Color coding - As long as you stay within one brand (the largest being Boye and Susan Bates), the colors of the hooks indicate their size

• Comfortable weight - I enjoy the heft that aluminum hooks have. Plastic hooks rarely feel as satisfying in my hand

• Smooth surface - This helps the yarn slide along the hook while stitching

I have used hooks made of horn and wood, but I haven't tried resin or bamboo yet. There are many brands of hook available, such as Susan Bates, Boye, Clover, Furls, and many more. As your skill grows, your desire to try new hook materials may grow as well. The important thing at the start is to have a good foundation with affordable materials.

Yarn

There is enough information about yarn that I could not dream of including it all in this post. I will give some important details about yarn for now, with the goal of writing a series just on yarn eventually.

Yarn Weights

Yarn is classified in one way by its weight. The weight is not its measurement in pounds or kilograms, but instead how thick the strand is. The weight is measured by the range of single crochet stitches in one 4-inch row. Here is a snip of the Standard Yarn Weight System (see the full page here):

The yarn weight chart that is accepted amongst yarn spinners and fiber artists, thanks to the Craft Yarn Council.

Medium weight is the best starting place, partly because it is the most common kind of yarn found in craft stores. It is also big enough to see the stitches clearly as you make them, and can be used to make hundreds of different kinds of objects.

Yarn Fibers

I am recently becoming far more aware of the content in my yarns, and I think it is important to share some of this information with you as you start your journey!

Yarns come in three large categories: animal fiber, plant fiber, and synthetic fiber.

Animal fibers are sourced from silkworms, sheep, alpacas, rabbits, goats, yaks, chinchillas, and more. These all have different behaviors but can generally be considered more breathable and insulating than other yarns.

Plant fibers come from cotton, flax, bamboo, cannabis sativa, banana tree, and many more. Cotton is my go-to these days, as it comes in many different colors and can be inexpensive but is also biodegradable. I also live in Florida, and cotton is a necessity during summer here!

Synthetic fibers are materials like acrylic, nylon, polyester, or lyocel/rayon. Any metallic fiber in your yarn is also synthetic. Synthetic fibers are very popular! They can be dyed much easier, so the variety in color is huge. Because the material can be created and isn't dependent on a crop or animal, they can be made in much larger quantities. It is a blessing and a curse! As far as the behavior, synthetic fibers have very little stretch and are not as absorbent as their natural counterparts. [source]

There are plenty of yarns out there that will blend multiple fiber types together, whether to keep affordable options or provide different textures. Which leads us to an important question: how do you know what is in your yarn?

Yarn Labels

Labels are the only method for a company or spinner to communicate all of the important information you need to know for that yarn. Labels have a few important pieces:

• Brand name and yarn type

• Yardage and Net Weight (different from the yarn weight)

• Fiber content

• Color and Dye Lot

• Yarn weight, gauge, and washing instructions

I will make another post about labels in depth, but for now, know that this label is going to be the place to find the fiber content. It will appear as a percentage, followed by the fiber type. For example:

An example of the fiber content found on a yarn label.

Yarns to Avoid as a Beginner

Here are some of my recommendations for yarns to avoid:

Overly decorative yarns

• These can be a lot of fun to look at, but they are not always fun to use. The decorative qualities of the yarn may hide the shape of your stitches, and you may not be able to see them correctly.

The texture of this boucle looks great, but this yarn can be frustrating to work with!

Yarns that do not have twisted strands

• There are more and more brands that use yarn with light twisting or no twisting at all. These strands can split frequently and cause frustration if you are not use to this. Commonly, if strands have fallen off the hook, a stitch must be reworked before you can continue. Save yourself this headache while learning, and become comfortable with twisted strands first.

That's all the information I have today. It was quite a lot, but I hope it has been informative! See you next time!