Have you been wondering how to crochet? It’s time for a new and exciting How To series again, and this time I am going to be teaching you the craft I’ve been doing the longest, crochet! Crochet was the craft that sparked my love of all things crafty and fiber when I was seven years old, and I’ve been hooked to it ever since. Now I’ve been doing it for sixteen years, and love it more and more as I keep learning new techniques or work with new yarns.

 

This series is perfect for you if you’ve wanted to learn crochet, feel as if you’ve never known quite how to do it, or would love to learn. Even if you’ve been doing crochet for a long time, this series will offer helpful tips and tricks for crocheting. It might seem like an intimidating craft to learn, but there is no need to fear! I’ll be walking alongside you and be there for you each step of the way. I’ve made step by step videos and photo tutorials, along with some fun downloadable pieces that will have you a crochet pro in no time.

 

In today’s post, we will be going over the foundational tools that are used in crocheting: yarn and crochet hooks. I will go over yarn weights and what they are, the parts of a crochet hook, and the difference between the sizes. There are so many numbers that get tossed around with both that it can be hard to keep track of all of the things to learn with crocheting. I’ve created a special little chart below for you to download and keep track of everything, so that learning how to crochet can be even easier! Let’s get started!

 

(Like videos better? Check out my YouTube video below, and subscribe to my YouTube channel E’Claire Makery for more how to videos.)

 

(The following post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. See my full affiliate disclosure here.)

Yarn

Yarn is the foundation of what every crochet project is based on, and is one of the most fun aspects of crocheting. It is made out of a variety of fibers ranging from acrylic fiber, cotton, wool, etc. Every yarn feels different, and that’s one reason why fiber artists are addicted to buying yarn because we want to collect all of it.

 

Yarn comes in a variety of weights, which refers to the thickness of the yarn. Different projects use a certain weight depending on what type of project you are making. When you crochet you are creating a fabric that your project is made out of, and what weight of yarn you use will affect the thickness of that fabric along with the stitch size of your crochet stitches.

 

Here I have four different types of yarn pictured: fingering, medium, bulky, and super bulky. These are the main types of yarn that I use in any project that I am making. What do the names above each one mean though? Let’s take a closer look.

 

” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Fingering – This weight of yarn is perfect for smaller projects such as socks, mini plushes, or to make a smaller stitch size for an article of clothing that you make. It is a thinner yarn, so it keeps your stitch size small. The 3 that goes next to Fingering on the picture is the numerical value of the weight of the yarn, and is the symbol that will appear on your yarn label to represent the size.

 

” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Medium – This yarn is most commonly used for plushes, garments, home decor, or other medium sized projects you have. It has a larger stitch size than the fingering weight, and creates a comfortable fabric that is great to work with. It’s numerical value is 4.

 

” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Bulky – This yarn is perfect for creating larger projects, or those oversized sweaters that everyone loves. It’s great for making cozy items, and makes your project work up so much faster than other yarn. I use this type of yarn in my Jumbo Ice Cream and Jumbo Fall Patterns. It’s numerical value is 5.

 

” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Super Bulky – One of the thickest yarn weights out there, this yarn weight creates huge stitch definition and a nice thick fabric. It is great for blankets, sweaters, scarves, and my Jumbo Ice Cream and Fall patterns. It’s numerical value is 6.

 

In order to help you learn all of the different aspects of various yarn weights, I’ve created a Yarn Weights Cheat Sheet Printable that you can download free of charge to be able to have as a reference. It covers yarn weight symbols, categories, recommended knitting needles or crochet hooks, and more. I hope it helps you out! You can view it below and save it for later if you’d like.

 

 

Hooks

The next tool to go over is the crochet hook. ” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Crochet hooks are the tool that you use to create your project from the yarn you are using. Hooks come in a variety of sizes that, like yarn, creates a different sized fabric depending on what hook size you use. My Yarn Weights Cheat Sheet Includes the sizes of hooks that are associated with each yarn weight. Each hook size is defined with a number in millimeters and a letter. The Metric size is a universal hook size that is used for the two types of crochet terminology: UK and US. The letter that is associated with a hook is only used in US terminology for hook sizes.

 

Crochet hooks are made up of 5 parts:

 

A. The Hook is what hooks your yarn and helps pull it through the loops you make during your project.

 

B. The Neck is the slanted part of the hook that slides your loops onto the Working Area.

 

C. The Working Area is where the loops of the stitch you’re working on are.

 

D. The Finger Hold or Grip is where your thumb, index, and middle finger are positioned when you hold the crochet hook.

 

E. The Handle is where the rest of your hand grips when you are holding the crochet hook.

 

Just like that you now know different aspects of yarn weight, and what crochet hook sizes are along with what parts they have. Thank you for reading this first lesson in my Learn How to Crochet Series! The next lesson will cover how to hold your yarn and crochet hook, which will take you one step further towards crocheting.

 

Happy Stitching!

~Claire

 

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