Hooks - for Crocheting

You need to have and know many more things before you can start crochet with a ball of yarn and a hook. After your getting to know the various parts and sizes of available hooks, you will now be made familiar with the finer aspects of hooks, which are considered as the ?star? tool of any crocheting project. Crochet will cease to exist without any hooks.

Hooks

You know already that there are different types of hooks ranging from thin to thick in size. If you are working with cotton yarn, then you need to choose thin steel hooks and the thicker variety of hooks go well with synthetic fibres and heavy wools.

The materials that go into the making of hooks are different such as plastic, bone, aluminium or steel.

The author of a particular pattern of the project might suggest usage of a particular size of hook, but you are the best judge, based on your experience and exposure, to decide on which hook is to be used. It is always better to use the hook which you are comfortable with and the one that will help you in achieving the correct gauge for a pattern.

As you progress in your work, you need to change the hooks for more than once. When you choose the hook brand, it is better to leave the thinking and deciding part to your hands ? meaning that you can choose those hooks that are at ease and felt comfortable by your hands. Many of the Crocheting enthusiasts take into consideration the following points when they go for buying their hooks: weight of the hook, hand size, finger length, and preference for material such as plastic or aluminium.

There is no ideal size hook that can exist and there is no fixed formula either. Crocheters think and act differently - some like to crochet tightly, some loosely, so the situation makes it difficult to arrive at a distinct formula. Give heed to the requirement of number of stitches you need to have in an inch, and use gauge as the key consideration.

You can start experimenting with the following adage in your mind - perfection depends on practice. For example, if you face problems in using plastic hook for a particular project, then you can switchover to aluminium hook and rate the performance. And over a period of time, you will be in a position to select the appropriate tools such as correct hook material, correct size, correct type, etc., for giving out the best of your talents.
Afghan Hook

You may be aware that for specialised crochet projects, Afghan hooks are used with high rate of success. The Afghan hook is so designed for you to hold many stitches on the hook simultaneously. The Afghan hook was deliberately invented to tide over the problems attached to using a smaller hook size of 6 inches. The Afghan hook was invented to make your life easier.

The Afghan hook is much longer than your regular crochet hook (average sizes are 6 inches) and come in three lengths: 9-inches, 14-inches and 20-inches. Of late, Afghan hooks come with a knob at the end, which prevents the stitches from falling off. Once you start using the Afghan hook, you will not be able to stop thanking the inventor for his/her thoughtful invention.

Certain Afghan hooks come with a long, flexible cord at the end, and these cords can hold additional stitches, which can be made to rest on your lap without the need to worry.