Hey everyone! Today, I am posting a material guide for complete beginners. So, if you are new to crochet, or even if you don’t know anything about crocheting, this is a great post for you to read.
There is a lot of things that you can buy for crocheting. But it’s better to just buy some yarn and a crochet hook when you begin. This way, you can see if you like crocheting and you won’t be very invested in it if you decide you don’t like it.
Yarn
First off, what yarn should you buy? It might seem like all yarn is the same, but it is not. First off, when you are using dark yarns, the stitches are very hard to see. This could lead to you getting annoyed, and not wanting to crochet anymore. Another thing to note is that when you use fluffy yarns or novelty yarns, the stitches are extremely hard to see as well. This could lead to a lot of frustration and quitting crochet.
Instead, I would recommend a medium toned yarn that is a number four weight, or worsted weight. The different weights correspond to the thickness of the yarn. A number 1 weight is also called superfine yarn, and it is very thin. The bulkiest weight yarn is usually a 7, and it called jumbo yarn. So a number 4 worsted weight is about in the middle. To tell the weight of the yarn, you have to look at the yarn label. It should have the size.
As for the fiber of the yarn, wool, acrylic, and cotton would all be good choices. There are pros and cons for each. Wool can be great for practicing your stitches, and it is forgiving of mistakes. It is strong and usually easy to unravel if you make a mistake. Some people have wool allergies though, but if you don’t, it’s a good choice.
Cotton yarn isn’t stretchy, which makes it a good choice for making things that you want to be strong and hold it’s shape, but it can be a little difficult to work with sometimes. Sometimes, people think that it’s not a good yarn to crochet with for beginners, but it’s doable. It is a good fiber to use if you want to crochet something for the summer, or something like a washcloth.
Acrylic is the fiber I usually crochet with, because it’s affordable, washable, widely available, and a good choice for beginners. It sometimes splits though, but it’s not very common. I would overall recommend this fiber for beginners. But because it is man made, it is plastic. This means that it does melt. Do not use this when making potholders!
So, I would recommend a medium colored yarn that is a worsted weight or a number 5 weight. It would not be a good idea to get yarn that is fluffy, but instead get some acrylic, wool, or cotton, depending on the project you are making.
Some of my favorite yarn for beginners:
Hooks
Now that you’ve found a good yarn for beginners, it is time to find a hook! To figure out the hook you will need for that yarn, you look on the yarn label, and it will say the hook size you have to use. There are a lot of different materials that hooks are made of: bamboo, wood, plastic, and aluminum. This is really just a personal preference and what yarn you are using.
Aluminum hooks are a very common choice for beginners. You can get ones that have a rubber handle or just all aluminum. These hooks are pretty cheap, you can get a set of fourteen for about seven dollars, so they are good for when you are just trying out crocheting. Aluminum does make the yarn slip more, so it would be good if you crochet faster or you are using more textured yarn.
Wooden hooks can be found in most craft stores as well. These will grip the yarn more than aluminum hooks. If you are having trouble crocheting because the stitches are falling off the hooks, then these hooks may help. If you are a slow crocheter, and you are having trouble with the stitches sticking to the hook, then you may want to try a different material.
Plastic hooks are a common choice for large hooks, 11 mm and larger. This is because they are lighter than aluminum. There are also small crochet hooks that are plastic, but almost all crochet hooks that are larger than 10 mm are plastic. They are in between wooden and aluminum.
What does mm mean when picking out crochet hooks? Well, it stands for millimeters. There are three different ways crochet hooks are classified into size: the metric way, the UK way, and the US way. The metric is the way I usually use. It is usually printed on the hook. A good sized hook for worsted weight yarn is a 6 mm. The US way is a number and letter (J/10) and I will share a chart. The UK way is a number (4).
Lastly, there are two different styles of hooks: tapered and inline. I use both styles, but I prefer using inline crochet hooks. Inline crochet hooks create uniform stitches, and they grab the yarn better, so they would be a good choice for beginners.
But when using tapered hooks, you can crochet faster, it may reduce wrist pain, and it doesn’t tend to split the yarn as much as when using an inline hook. It really just matters on what you prefer!
My favorite hooks!
Other materials
After you get some yarn and a hook, there are a few other things you can get too. Yarn needles are used to sew in the ends after you finish the crochet project. They can be metal and plastic. They are both good, but some of the plastic ones I’ve had have broken. But I would recommend both.
Scissors are a good thing to keep on hand for when you need to cut they yarn. You can use any scissors, but I like the small ones that I can keep in my pouch that I carry around with crochet supplies in it (the hook I am using for a project, a yarn needle, scissors, any small parts I might need for the pattern I’m working on) but bigger ones work too.
Other materials!
- Metal yarn needles
- Plastic yarn needles
- Curved yarn needles
- Set of different yarn needles
- Some small scissors
- Some larger scissors
Review
So, there are a lot of supplies that you need, but to begin all you really need to buy is a crochet hook and a ball of yarn. I hope you found this post helpful and that you start to crochet! I am going to be posting on Wednesdays and Saturdays from now on. Bye! Have a wonderful day! ❤️
Books and Hooks 