What crochet supplies are there?

Not all of these are required, but the optional ones can make crocheting easier. (Most of these can be useful for knitting, too.)

 

To begin with, you need a crochet hook. These can be made from aluminum, steel, hard plastic, soft plastic, and bamboo.

 

Aluminum and hard plastic are generally used for yarns; the very large hooks, such as size Q, are hard plastic. Steel hooks are used for thread, though some of them can be used for fine yarns and vice versa, because there is a size overlap. Soft plastic hooks are hard to find—they are used to crochet wire. Bamboo crochet hooks are a bit easier to find at specialty yarn shops, and they have price tags to match; they presumably produce less friction.

 

You also need string to crochet, be it yarn, thread, rope, or wire (hereafter referred to as "yarn" for ease of writing). Make sure your crochet hook's material matches what you are working with. Do not use a metal, bamboo, or hard plastic hook with wire! The hook will be damaged! Make certain the hook you are using fits the yarn comfortably, to minimize risk of splitting the yarn. (Splitting the yarn makes it harder to work with, to unravel if there are mistakes, and lowers the quality of the appearance of the finished product.)

 

Though it is important to use a properly sized crochet hook for your material, the boundaries are somewhat subjective. Someone with very fine control over his or her crochet would be able to use a size Q hook successfully with thread, whereas most people would require rope or multiple strands of thick yarn to crochet properly with such a hook. Also, someone who twists the yarn in such a way to make it thinner momently while crocheting might be able to use a thick yarn with a size G hook, while most people would split yarn in such a circumstance. (In any case, using an oddly sized hook for your yarn will make the project more difficult regardless of what you are doing.)

 

Whenever you begin a project, always buy enough yarn to finish the project. Yarn is most often colored in "dye lots"—if you do not buy enough yarn, you will not be likely to find the same dye lot later, producing a discoloration in your project.

 

Another requirement is something to cut the yarn with. Though scissors work well, if you crochet a lot you may want to invest in a yarn or thread cutter, which can cut the yarn closer to the fabric, leaving less of an edge.

 

To stitch together things that you make, buy at least two yarn needles (one metal and one soft plastic) and an afghan needle, if possible. Extras might be nice, particularly for the yarn needles, because they are easy to misplace.

 

What is the difference between the two? A yarn needle can vary in size from being good for baby yarn to regular yarn, and it is rarely any longer than an inch and a half. A metal yarn needle is good if you are crocheting things such as teddy bears, because you need to stitch through the stuffing, and you need plenty of room to maneuver. The plastic yarn needle is better for things like a delicate sweater, where the soft plastic does not harm the yarn. An afghan needle is closer to three or four inches long and is heavy plastic. It is made to stitch heavy yarn projects, namely afghans, but it works nicely for other things too.

 

Anyone who intends to crochet long-term, particularly if you acquire many crochet hooks (which can be termed "needles" and are not to be confused with the yarn needles), should probably buy a size gauge for your hooks. This is often a piece of plastic with holes in it, each hole having a label for the diameter size. You find the hole that your hook fits in to determine the hook's size.

 

Why do that, since the hooks have the sizes on them, anyway? With all hooks having the number or letter sizes, it is very tempting to just see "G" and assume it is the correct size. Some brands differ their sizes' diameters! Though this is never by much, it can mean a significant difference to your gauge and therefore to the size of your finished project. For example, one brand has a "G" hook of 4.00 mm diameter; another brand's "G" hook is 4.25 mm in diameter.

 

If you find the crochet hook uncomfortable to wield, hook cushions (also called crochet cushions) might be worth the investment. You stick slide on the handle of the crochet hook to soften the grip. This can release hand tension.

 

Having a lot of hooks can quickly become a headache. Where did that size 4 steel one go, anyway? A hook case can easily alleviate such a headache. They are usually made for steel hooks, but the hook holders can stretch to fit aluminum ones.

 

Attempting to crochet with multiple colors often requires yarn bobbins. These little things have the secondary yarn(s) wrapped around them for you to easily work into the fabric without getting the different yarns all twisted together, as would happen with full skeins.

 

Row markers are useful when you are working on something round that requires you to keep track of the beginning of each row, and row counters are similar, keeping track how many rows you have done in projects that you need to do that in—i.e., most projects with shape. If you cannot "read" crochet to identify row beginnings and stitch numbers, these are a necessity for shaped projects.

 

These next two items are usually used for knitting, but you may like them for crochet: stitch holders and point protectors. Stitch holders can double for holding fabric in place, among other things. Point protectors cover the tip of your hook, to protect from scuffing and wear on the coating. You can also put them over the point of your hook to hold on the loop of a project in the works, to prevent separation of the hook and project and do prevent unraveling of the project.

 

A gauge ruler has one benefit over a regular ruler for measuring the gauge: usually it has a magnifying strip in the middle of the measuring sides, making it easier to count stitches.

 

Also, when determining your gauge, straight pins may be helpful, which you can use to mark the edges of where you are counting, making it easier to count without including the inch from either edge of the swatch.

 

As silly as it may sound, sometimes you may want a pair of gloves to wear while you crochet, too, to keep a yarn from giving you "rug burn."