Crochet Hooks

What to buy first

One 5mm hook - US H-8 - and a skein of smooth pale worsted yarn. Not a set. 5mm is the size most worsted labels suggest, and worsted is what every tutorial demonstrates in.

A 22-piece set is the classic first purchase and it is usually a waste: you will use the 5mm, occasionally the 4mm, and the rest will sit in the case for years. Worse, it commits you to one head shape before you know which one your hands prefer - and that is the single variable that most affects whether crochet feels comfortable.

Buying one in-line hook and one tapered hook, for a couple of dollars each, tells you more than any review can. Do that first.

Head shape, in one paragraph

In-line hooks - the Susan Bates design - have the head cut flush with the shaft. They go into tight stitches easily and hold gauge consistently, which suits tight crocheters and amigurumi. Tapered hooks - the Boye design - have a throat narrower than the shaft, which grabs the working loop more positively and splits plies less, which suits loose crocheters and soft splitty yarn.

Neither is better. One suits your hands and one fights them, and it costs almost nothing to find out which. Clover Amour vs Susan Bates is the direct comparison.

Sizing, and the two projects that break it

The standard maps worsted weight to 5.5 to 6.5mm (I-9 to K-10.5), and most worsted yarn labels suggest 5mm - a half size tighter, for a denser fabric. Both are reasonable, and the difference is density rather than correctness.

Two common projects deliberately break the range in opposite directions:

• Amigurumi goes smaller - typically 3.5 to 4mm with worsted yarn - because the fabric has to be tight enough that stuffing does not show through the stitches.
• Blankets go larger - 6.0 to 6.5mm with worsted - because drape, speed and lower yarn consumption all matter more than density.

Both are design decisions rather than errors. The full mapping, including the steel-hook scale that runs backwards, is on the hook size chart.

Which sizes to actually own

3.5mm to 6.5mm covers sport, DK, worsted and the bottom of bulky, which is most published patterns and most yarn on the shelf. A set that covers that band well is more useful than a 22-piece set spanning thread hooks to jumbo. Below 2.25mm is thread crochet, a different craft; above 8mm, buy individually as projects demand.

If your hands hurt

Grip diameter is the variable, and it is worth taking seriously rather than working through. A thicker handle needs less pinch force to hold securely, and sustained pinch force is what produces the ache in the thumb web that crocheters describe.

The cheapest test costs almost nothing: slide a foam pencil grip onto a hook you already own and work a swatch. If that helps, diameter is your issue and you can buy accordingly - best ergonomic crochet hooks and best crochet hook for arthritis go through the options. Persistent pain is a question for a clinician rather than a new hook.