Beginner Crochet: What Do You Need?

Crochet beginners can easily get intimidated and confused on what tools and supplies are necessary for them to get started. In today’s post, I will take you through what the basic necessities are for someone to begin crocheting. Then, just for fun, I will let you know what are some extra helpful tools that you may want to grab later on as you grow in your skills. As you start your beginner crochet journey, you will want to make sure you understand what the essential supplies, and that is what I hope to help you do here!

Crocheting is such a wonderful hobby! I love the fact that you can turn a ball of yarn into something amazing simply with your hands, a hook, and a little know-how. However, as I was thinking through how to teach a few friends and family members how to crochet, I realized that the tools you choose are really important!

If you go to any craft store, you will find a plethora of different crochet tools – hooks, needles, yarn, etc. It can be really hard to navigate what the beginner crochet tools are from the more advanced ones. When you are just starting out and feel like you have no idea what you need, this can be really overwhelming! This is what I hope to help you overcome in this post.

I will go through the basics of beginner crochet tools and why they are necessary. Then I want to explain a few other useful crochet tools that are available and how they can really make your life a lot easier once you have the basics mastered. I wouldn’t start with all of these, but the goal is for you to look through the list and then add a tool at a time depending on what might be most helpful to you!

Also, this is not an exhaustive list by any means. There are always new tools coming out or ways that you can up your crochet game. My plan is to just start you off with the beginner crochet essentials, and as you learn more and see what other makers and designers have, you can choose tools and materials that suit you and your projects the best!

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Beginner Crochet: What do you need?

Great question! Someone who has never crocheted at all should really look at getting just these four things:

Crochet hook(s):

Obviously, you have to start off with a crochet hook in order to start crocheting. However, it will depend on your personality whether you go all in with a crochet hook set or if you want to just try it out and get one crochet hook at a time as needed. I started out with just one hook when I was a kid, and it can be a great way to get your feet wet in a sense, especially if you get a bit overwhelmed by all of the choices. For those of you who want to start off with a single hook, I recommend going for a middle size between 5mm and 6.5mm. If you get a crochet hook set though, the number of patterns you can try and the types of yarn you can work with right away increases dramatically.

Yarn:

Another obvious material is yarn. While crocheters have varying opinions on what is the easiest yarn to work with, I personally recommend starting with acrylic or cotton, 4 or worsted weight yarn. You could have a completely different opinion than me on this, but for those of you who have never started, I recommend these sizes and materials because they are more affordable and more readily available than many others. Some options are:

• Red Heart Yarn: Very affordable, can be found almost anywhere, and has a lot of color options.
• I Love This Yarn: Affordable, available at Hobby Lobby or online, soft texture, and lots of color options.
• Lion Brand Pound of Love: Higher quality acrylic yarn, larger skeins perfect for completing entire project, easy to find in many craft stores and online.

Yarn or Darning Needles:

Yarn needles are so important for when you have finished a project! In order to weave in the yarn ends, you will need these. Also, for certain projects that require sewing, you will want one of these to do so. They have a larger eye and a blunt tip that makes working with yarn so much easier.

Scissors:

There will come a point in your crocheting journey where you will want to have a designated set of yarn scissors. If you sew or do other crafts, you know what I mean. There is just something very nice and convenient about having a set pair of scissors in your crochet area that you use only for yarn. So, my suggestion is, if possible, get them at the beginning of your crochet adventure.

Those four things are the essentials for getting started. Now, they are not the only things you can or should get, but they are the very basics. Next I will show you a few tools that you may want to look into once you’ve gotten a few rows underway, and you’ve decided you really like this crocheting thing, because I’m sure you will.

Crochet Tools: The Extras

Every crocheter needs the few basic tools above, and then they may want some other fun accessories. Some of these things will be needed as you grow in your crochet skills and want to expand to projects that need them. Others will be more of a convenience when you start to expand your crochet hobby or want to find easier ways of doing things. None of these are necessities for just starting, and even now, I am still working on acquiring some of them. However, each one will help you become better at crochet.

Stitch Markers:

Many patterns require the use of stitch markers to help you keep track of a certain stitch. You can get really fancy, handmade ones, or just very basic. I suggest getting bright colors as they are easier to see (and harder to lose for some of us).

Tape Measure:

Many patterns require you to make a gauge swatch, and you will need to use a tape measure to do so. You will also find that other patterns just want you to go until a measured distance. Either way, you will find that a tape measure is a really useful tool when taking on new or more advanced crochet projects.

Yarn Bag:

While this may not be something you use on the daily, having a travel crochet bag makes crocheting on the go much easier. You can keep your project, extra yarn, crochet hook, and any other tools or accessories you might need all together and safe from dirt and other mayhem by keeping it zipped away. For those who like to be crochet passenger princesses, this would definitely be a much loved accessory.

Blocking Set with T-pins:

For those who love crisp, clean lines, a blocking set is key. Blocking, in simple terms, is usually wetting your project, shaping it, and letting it dry. A blocking set allows you to set the shape that the final product should be in once it dries.

Yarn Winder:

A yarn winder will help you avoid the annoying hassle of dealing with tangled yarn when you are in the middle of a project. It takes the yarn from the skein and winds it up in a nice little yarn cake. Plus, it is pretty satisfying to see all of the yarn, and it does make it a lot easier to work with.

Yarn Bowl:

If you have ever had a ball of yarn take a dive off the couch, chair or table and go rolling all the way across the room just to have a baby or pet go after it, then you know why a yarn bowl or holder is a very nice thing to have. I will be honest that it will depend on where you get to crochet as you will need to have a place to set it, but they can help contain yarn as it unwinds and is made into something amazing!

Neck Light:

This may not be a necessity for everyone, but I know there are times when I have wanted to continue crocheting while my hubby wanted the light off for whatever movie or show we were watching. For those times, this would be a nice to have a neck light to let you still see what you are doing even when the above lights are off.

While this is not all the possible things you could get to help you on your crocheting journey, these are some of the major ones that I own or have looked into getting for myself. I hope this helps you know where to get started with crocheting, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!