How to match yarn to crochet hook?

How to match yarn to crochet hook?

Yarn is available in many different weights, types, textures, and varieties. When selecting the type of yarn for your project, it is important to consider the weight (thickness), texture (sparkle, bulky or fine), and fiber type that will work best with your skill level and desired project outcome. Matching the yarn to a crochet hook can help create a more polished finished product.

As you learn to crochet, it is important to match the size of your crochet hook with the thickness of the yarn. This will help you achieve a tight and sturdy fabric that will hold up through wear and tear.

Here are how the hook sizes work

Regular (Yarn) Hooks:

Numbers:

The size of the hook corresponds to the number, with 15 being much thicker than 9.

Letters:

The thickness of the hook gets bigger as you go down the alphabet, so Q’s hook is much thicker than H’s. For crochet hooks in US sizes, you will often see the Letter paired with the Number, like this: H-7.

MM:

These sizes are in mm units. The bigger the number, the bigger/thicker the hook size is. A 15 mm hook size would be a larger setting than a 2 mm one.

All these conventions apply to the bigger hooks, like plastic hooks, aluminum hooks, even wooden hooks (like a bamboo hook, for example). These are the hooks you will be working with the most, but they are not the only ones. For finer crochet projects, the ones that work with super fine/thin yarn, there are thread hooks and their sizing is different.

Thread Hooks

Some of the most iconic of crochet hooks are the steel ones. These metal thread hooks are so thin they almost look like needles and they’re used for working with thinner yarns, making fine and delicate items like lace.

Thread hooks also come numbered in mm and in portions of the mm because of how thin they might get (0.25mm) and these sizes follow the same logic where the smaller the number the smaller/thinner the hook, but they are also numbered with numbers and those are actually opposite of how the regular hooks are numbered.

With super-thin steel hooks, the more the number, the thinner the hook- so a 12 hook is actually smaller than an 8 hook. There is no letter numbering for steel hooks.

Size numbers and letters are different in the US than the UK. The US system has its own size pattern notations while the UK’s is different. For that numerical chart, conversion chart, as well as the handy chart for all the US measurements, letters and numbers, head over to the Craft Yarn Council.

Yarn Weight

Yes, the crochet hook size matters when matching up hook and yarn, but so does the weight of the yarn. You can think of yarn weight as its thickness. Just like the hooks, yarn weight comes described with more than one thing. There are numbers, plies, and names.

Numbers

The numbering of the different yarn weights is very straightforward. It goes from 0 to 7 and the bigger the number, the thicker the thread.

In yarn, weight 0 would like a sewing thread thickness, and 7 being yarn as thick as your pinky finger. When you look at the paper label that comes with the skein or a ball of yarn, this number will be specified on there, usually as a part of a small picture of a yarn skein.

Ply

As I mention, there are also ply numbers to describe how thick yarn is, and that’s basically how many thinner strands of yarn make up a thread.

The number of plies can go from 1 to 16 and more. The thinner, lower-numbered yarns have fewer number of plies, so if you grab a yarn size 2 or 3 from the numbered scale, it would match a 5 or 8 ply yarn, and if you pick yarn size 6 which is a pretty chunky yarn, it would have 14 to 16 plys, which makes sense since you need to use more strands to make a thicker yarn.

Weight Names

And then there are also naming conventions for each yarn weight. Here they are (matched up with the numbers. The thinnest one is Fingering (0), then Sock (1), Sport (2), DK (3), Worsted (4), Chunky (5), Super Bulky (6) and Jumbo (7).

Alright, phew, now that we have learned the language of the hook and yarn sizes, let’s finally get to the point of this post:

How do you match the right hook size with the yarn weight in crochet?

This is actually the easiest part.

First of all, you need to know that there is no hook-yarn matching police that will come if you pair up a really large hook with a really thin yarn (you end up making something super lacy) or a small hook with a really thick yarn (you will end up with something super dense and will probably cuss a lot).

You can match up the hooks and yarns however you want, girl! BUT, to make the work more enjoyable and the results of the pattern looking how you want them too, here are a few tips you can use to match hooks and yarns in crochet.

Find it in the crochet patterns

Most patterns will recommend the yarn weight and hook size that they used to make the pattern. If you’re unsure, use those as a starting point. Get the hook size and the yarn weight that the pattern calls for. In the pattern, a gauge swatch is recommended, a small sample that tells you the number of stitches you should have per inch of the crochet fabric. With a hook that’s a little bigger or smaller, you might be able to crochet the same project with a looser or tighter stitch

Find it on the yarn label

Second, on the yarn ball or skein itself, there is a yarn label that will tell you what hook size (or a knitting needle size) is recommended for this weight of yarn. That’s the hook size you can use as a starting point. If your crocheting style is looser or tighter, make modifications accordingly. You can try to go down or up a size of the hook to get the tension of the crochet you like.

Eye the match

And last, when it doesn’t work out at all, just look at both strands of yarn and the hook side by side. You want them to be around the same thickness so that your hook is a bit thicker than the yarn.

Finding a matching crochet hook and yarn size

Make a sample:

When you’re not sure what to do with a project, make a small sample of crochet to test the materials. Gauge your swatch and see if this is really what you want your finished product to look like. If the sample comes out smaller than you wanted, try to use a larger hook next time. If it’s too big, choose a smaller one.

If the test yarns look good, use the same hook size with that yarn weight. You might also want to keep a small notebook next to your workspace where you write down which yarn weights you like with which hook size.

How do I know what size crochet hook to use?

The size of a crochet hook is determined by the diameter of the shaft, or the part of the hook between the point and the handle. The shaft determines how large your stitches will be. Steel hooks are also known as “thread hooks” and should only be used for fine lace thread.

How do I know my crochet yarn size?

Guide to Crochet Thread Sizes Each type of thread or yarn is assigned a number. With yarn, the higher the number, the thicker the yarn. For example, a DK weight yarn is a 3 and a Bulky Weight yarn is a 5; naturally, the larger yarn (in number) is the thicker yarn (in weight).

What size crochet hook should I use with size 10 thread?

1.5 mm The photo above shows the same snowflake as above as well as the same pattern worked in size 10 thread with a 1.5 mm crochet hook. You can see that the size 10 thread (on the right) makes a smaller crochet snowflake. You could make even smaller ones using size 20 and size 30 crochet thread.

What happens if I use a bigger crochet hook?

When you use a bigger crochet hook, you get a looser/larger stitch. If you crochet tightly, using a hook one or two sizes larger than required by the pattern may help you to obtain the proper guage. Conversely, using a smaller hook will give you tighter/smaller stitches.

What is the most common crochet hook size?

H/8 5 mm The most common size is a H/8 5 mm crochet hook. It is the perfect size to make blankets, scarves and more since it is not too small and not too large.

Does the crochet hook size matter?

Why Crochet Hook Size Matters. Crochet hook size matters because each hook size produces differently sized stitches. A smaller hook will have smaller gaps and tighter connections with the yarn. This is similar to yarn weight, another important factor in choosing crochet materials.

Can you crochet without a crochet hook?

Finger crochet is a great way to enjoy crochet when you don’t have a hook on hand (or, when your hook isn’t the right size for your yarn). It’s also a great way to teach crochet, since your fingers only have to focus on the mechanics of the stitches and not on how to hold the hook.

How many crochet hooks do you need to crochet?

It is used to draw the yarn through the loops. If you are familiar with knitting, you know you need two needles to knit. But don’t go to your local yarn shop and buy two same crochet hooks! You need just one.

Which type of yarn is best for crochet?

A Dk weight yarn in acrylic, wool or cotton is what we would recommend as the best yarn for crochet for beginners. This is because they are generally quite uniform in thickness, plus if you make a mistake you can easily undo it

What is the difference between yarn and crochet thread?

Crochet thread produces fabric of finer gauge that may be stiffened with starch or, when used with wires, shaped to make petals, leaves, etc. Typically, crochet thread is thinner than yarn, meaning, it is of a smaller gauge, thus yielding finer details.

How do you crochet with very thin yarn?

What size crochet hook is 00?

Crochet Hook Sizes Millimeter Range U.S. Size Range 3.50 mm 00 3.25 mm 0 2.75 mm 1 2.70 mm 00

Is it better to crochet tight or loose?

It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or you’ve been crocheting for years; not having even stitches is a common problem. Crochet stitches can’t be too tight or too loose otherwise you will have problems with your project. The yarn should move smoothly from your yarn-holding hand to your crochet hook.

What is WW yarn?

Worsted weight yarn is a medium weight yarn that sits in the middle of the yarn weight family. It’s thicker than sock and sport weight and thinner than bulky weight yarn. … According to large-scale yarn manufacturers Lion Brand and Bernat, their most popular yarn weight for knitting and crochet is – you guessed it!

How do you make yarn go further?

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