The other day, I confessed my love of binding clips for quilting. Today, I thought I'd switch over to my other love, and talk about my crochet tools.
For crochet, there are really only a few 'must have' tools. The hook is the most obvious, but the other two are scissors and a yarn needle - and really, that's about it for tools. Unless you are making something very specialized, you can pretty much get by with these three items - and even the scissors are not a 'need to have' item (I have used nail clippers in a pinch, and have broken the yarn with my hands too).
Crochet hooks are the most obvious necessity, and they are as varied as the people that use them. I have at least one in every size available, from less than a millimeter to 30 mm, and most of those sizes are available in different materials (metal, plastic, wood), different shapes, and varying degrees of comfort (ergonomic hooks).
This is a shot of just some of the hooks I have. You can see some are metal, some are plastic. Some have the ergonomic handles, some don't. The hook end looks different from hook to hook. My personal favorite hook shape is called 'in-line' (the reddish hook with the black handle in the center of the photo). The hook and the shaft are the same size, with a cut-in section that you use to hook the yarn. Some of the others are tapered, so the point of the hook is smaller than the shaft. I don't mind using those either - but I find that since the in-line type is what I learned on, that is what I'm most comfortable using.
Yarn needles, like hooks, are available in different sizes, shapes and materials. Mostly metal or plastic, but I have seen a few carved from wood as well. There are some that have curved tips, which make them really good for sewing pieces together. My personal favorite is this plastic one, made by the Susan Bates company. They are made from plastic, but the eye of the needle is the entire length of the needle! Makes it very easy to thread, and also, you don't have to worry so much about the size of the needle vs. the size of the yarn, as one needle will accommodate several different yarn thicknesses. Plastic needles in general are great if you ever teach your kids to crochet or knit. They are obviously not as sharp as the metal needles, so less risk of injury goes along with them.
Scissors, as I mentioned before are not really a necessity here, so any that you have on hand will do the job. Since I was a quilter before I started crocheting, I had quite a few pairs on hand, and just moved a few smaller pairs from the sewing desk to my project bags. (Really, I may have a problem with scissors - I have a lot!)
What is your favorite tool for either crochet or sewing? I'd love to hear all about it!
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