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In this page: choosing materials, center-pull yarn, hook and yarn holds, a note for left-handers.
The first thing to do is get your materials in order. You will need a hook, yarn, and scissors, and later on, a yarn needle. In the beginning, use a larger hook such as a size J (6 mm) or K (6.5 mm). Move to a smaller hook (F/3.75mm or G/4mm) later, but if you have difficulty with a new stitch or technique, try going back to the larger hook for a while. Use sharp scissors; a pair which have been cutting paper for a year will most likely not be fun to cut yarn with. As for yarn needles, you have your pick. The main criteria are that it have a blunt tip and an eye large enough for you to thread the yarn into it without too much struggle. Knit Simple Magazine has a reference page with most all the information you need about hook anatomy, hook types and sizes, and yarn types and weights. There is more on yarn after the next paragraph.
One aspect of crochet tools that is omitted in the Knit Simple reference is that that there are three major types of hooks: inline (or flat headed), non-inline (or round headed), and steel. The steel ones are non-inline as well, but they are smaller and intended for crocheting with thread. Nerdigurumi has an extensive guide to crochet hooks (including reviews of specific brands) that has a photo of an inline and non-inline hook early on. Choosing a hook type is about suiting the hook to your crochet style, and so may be something you should revisit after crocheting a few weeks or months. It may also be that whichever style you first spend significant time using will always be your preference, but here are some general pros and cons: An inline hook, since it is the same diameter to the tip, is good if you have trouble keeping your stitches even or tend to stitch too tightly. The most common inline hooks (Susan Bates) also have rounder tips, so are good if you tend to split the yarn when inserting your hook into a stitch. The most common non-inline hooks (Boye) have pointier ends, and so are good if you have trouble getting your hook into the stitch, period. However, I prefer them because inline hooks have a wider, more blade-like hook edge that I tend to snag on yarn when removing the hook from a stitch. Crochet Insider has an in-depth article about personal preference and objective pros and cons.
I recommend worsted weight yarn throughout the learning process (anything marked 4-Medium will do; the vast majority of yarns at chain craft stores are worsted weight, though you’ll see this doesn’t mean they are all the same thickness), in wool or acrylic. Cotton yarn has very little give, so I advise against starting with it. Also avoid textured, fluffy, or lacy yarns until you have some experience.
I find it easier to work with yarn that pulls out of the middle of the skein rather than unrolling from the outside. If that is not the case to start off with (it seems to be random which kinds of yarn are center-pull and which are not), you can find the centermost loose end by reaching into the skein from one end with your fingers, grabbing a wad of yarn, and pulling it out. If you are lucky the end will come out with it, demonstrated by the wad being joined to the skein by a single strand. Otherwise you can pull until you have the end, untangle the yarn, and just wedge the extra back into the skein, starting from the part closest to the skein.
You will probably have to pull yarn out of the skein as you work so that it does not get tight between your hook and the skein. That should change as you use more yarn and the skein loosens up.
If you have to pull far too much out or have used a bunch and your skein is smushy (or if the yarn came in a hank instead of a skein), you can rewind it. I use this method, though if I’m starting from a smushy or partially-deconstructed skein, I don’t unwind it first. If you are starting from a hank, you can open it up into a loop and set it around the back of a chair or two.
When you are just beginning, do not worry too much about how you hold the hook and yarn. I know I am horrifying many people by saying this, but at first, make it work however you need to. The ultimate goal is to hold the hook in one hand and deal with all aspects of the yarn with the other, but if at first you have to prop the hook in your belly, or pinch the yarn with your hook hand while wrapping the yarn with the other, you should feel fully entitled to do so. Once you are more comfortable with the yarn and familiar with the stitches, come back to the paragraphs below to learn how to work “correctly.” It is the correct way because it is most likely to make you faster and more comfortable.
There are two standard ways to hold the hook, which might be called underhand and overhand, or pen and knife holds. They are illustrated for lefties and righties on the For Dummies site. The knife hold results in more of a “grab and pull down” motion on the yarn, and the pen hold more of a “scoop up” motion. Your dominant hand holds the hook and your other hand simultaneously keeps a grip on the stitches you have made so far and holds the unused yarn in the right place and with enough tension to be grabbed with the hook. Crochet Spot and Crochet Guru have great photos of several ways to hold the yarn, though even the two together are by no means an exhaustive list.
Finally, when you’re ready to really take it to the next level, Crochet Insider discusses yarn management in depth, taking into account hand anatomy and flexibility and qualities of skin.
A note for left-handers: The translation between right- and left-handed crochet is mirroring left/right. Front to back, or closer and further from your body, stay the same. I have included as many links to left-handed videos as I found, but my instructions are all right-handed. This makes no difference to the verbal description of yarning over and making stitches (where it might I have tried to specify), but the pictures all need to be flipped side to side for a lefty.