MATERIALS & TOOLS
HOOKS AND TOOLS
Let’s get straight to the point: you can’t crochet without them!
C
rochet hooks come in all sizes,
shapes and materials. But all you
really need from a hook is that it’s
fairly short, thin, smooth and strong enough
to enable you to turn yarn into the stitches
used to make crocheted fabric.
Of course, things aren’t quite that
straightforward. You also need to think about
the different yarn fibres you’ll be working with,
your stitch tension, personal preferences, and
the fact that no one hook will work for all the
projects you’ll want to make, so it’s a good
idea to invest in a set of several hooks.
The first thing you need to know about
crochet hooks is that they come in different
sizes or thicknesses, just like yarn comes in
different thicknesses. It’s important to use
the appropriate size of hook for the thickness
of the yarn you’re using. For example, when
you’re using a chunky yarn, you need to use a
thicker hook or you’ll end up with tiny stitches
and a stiff, dense fabric.THROUGH THICK AND THIN
When you’re first learning to crochet, it’s best
to use the size of hook recommended on the
yarn’s ball band. For example, a DK yarn will
usually recommend a 4mm hook, and this is
a great combination for beginners to start
practising with. Once you get more confident,
you can vary the hook size to achieve
different effects with the same yarn (we’ll
have more on this later).
Most hook sizes are measured in
millimetres (mm), but you might also see
hooks in traditional UK sizes (in numbers
from 000 to 14) and traditional US sizes (in
numbers from 0 to 50). We’ve included ahandy conversion table so you can easily
switch between the different sizes.
You’ll also see above that some of the
hooks available are very small – these are
sometimes referred to as ‘steel’ hook sizes
and can be used to crochet lace, jewellery
and other tiny items using embroidery thread.
You don’t need to have all these sizes in
your hook stash to start crocheting, though.
You’ll probably find you use 3mm and 4mm
hooks most often, so start off with these. You
can pick up old crochet hooks for a great
price at car boot sales and charity shops –
just make sure they’re in good condition and
not chipped or bent.
Above, we’ve also included a life-size guide
to the most common crochet hook sizes, so
you can easily identify any old hooks that
don’t have numbers on them.UK – | Metric 0.75mm | US –UK – | Metric 1mm | US –UK – | Metric 1.25mm | US –UK – | Metric 1.5mm | US –UK – | Metric 1.75mm | US –UK 14 | Metric 2mm | US B/UK 13 | Metric 2.25mm | US –UK 12 | Metric 2.5mm | US C/UK 11 | Metric 3mm | US –UK 9 | Metric 3.5mm | US E/UK 8 | Metric 4mm | US G/UK 7 | Metric 4.5mm | US 7UK 6 | Metric 5mm | US H/UK 5 | Metric 5.5mm | US I/UK 4 | Metric 6mm | US J/14 2mm B/
13 2.25mm –
12 2.5mm C/
11 3mm –
10 3.25mm D/
9 3.5mm E/
8 4mm G/
7 4.5mm 7
6 5mm H/
5 5.5mm I/
4 6mm J/
3 6.5mm K/10½
2 7mm –
0 8mm –
00 9mm –
000 10mm –UK METRIC USHOOK SIZES