Get Equipped With Essential Crotchet Basic Supplies
Crotchet learning is fun and easy if you have the right supplies and quality tools. The two crucial tools are yarn and crochet hooks. Without these, you cannot crochet anything. Besides, the yarn and hook there are a few basic supplies to add to the crochet toolkit. It includes scissors, yarn needles, stitch markers, and measuring tape. All the supplies are easily available at the local or online craft stores.
Essential crotchet supplies
Hooks
Two stainless steel knitting needles are used for sweater knitting projects but a single hook is used in crocheting. Crocheting hooks are available in different sizes, shapes, and materials. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages.
- Materials
Hooks are designed from materials like steel, aluminum, bamboo, wood, and plastic. Each material gives a different feel like metal hooks are fast and smooth but cold to touch, while plastic offer more grip on the yarn and is light and warm.
You can try different hooks to identify the material that you are comfortable working with. There are hand-carved wooden crochet hooks that look classic!
- Shape
Some have a tapered hook head & throat, while a few have an inline style hook head & throat with a short shaft. There is an ergonomic style with a hybrid-style shape. Experiment with them to identify your favorite style.
- Size
Hooks are available in a variety of sizes. The yarn and pattern you choose will determine the hook size. Thin yarns need thin hooks and vice versa. Check the yarn label for the hook size recommendation. As your confidence grows in crocheting, you will need different size hooks.
Yarn
While choosing the yarn for a crocheting project, consider the following.
- Texture – Beginners need to choose yarns that are not fine, fluffy, bumpy, or slippery.
- Color – Beginners need to start with light-colored yarns because it is easy to see the stitches.
- Fiber content – Learn with an acrylic blend or woolen yarns because they have a little stretch and bounce than cotton yarns.
Yarn needle
It is a blunt-tipped needle necessary to weave yarn ends and sew crochet pieces together. It is also called tapestry or darning needle.
- Size – Choose size based on yarn thickness because you will need a proper eye to thread it.
- Shape – You get to choose between straight and bent-tip shapes. The former is preferred but the latter is great for under loop stitch hooking.
- Material – Beginners can go for the metal material rather than plastic.
Scissors
Your crotchet toolkit must have good scissors to cut the yarn as well as to trim the ends.
Stitch markers
You use stitch markers to mark the round beginning, row end, or keep track of decrease and increase. For the crocheting project, you need to choose the split ring stitch markers or the locking stitch markers. Closed stitch markers are for knitting projects, so don’t buy them for crocheting.
Measuring tape
It is an essential tool needed to measure the width and length of crotchet projects. Choose flexible measuring tape that can be wrapped around and easy to store in the crotchet toolkit or bag.
Some nice to have crotchet supplies are a crochet hook case, yarn bowl, row counter, and more. Equipped with what crotchet hooks, yarns, and other supplies are needed, you can start the crotchet journey!
