Beginning Crochet Supplies

So you want to learn to crochet! Crochet is a lot of fun. It's also more forgiving of mistakes than knitting is, so in my mind it's a better place to start as a beginner to just learn how to work with yarn. To begin crocheting, you only really need two things: yarn and a hook.

Yarn

Yarn is where all the fun is in knitting and crochet. When you're first starting out, I recommend starting with an inexpensive, smooth yarn. Later, once you're more comfortable, you can start working with weird mohairs and homespuns and ribbons. For now, though, look for a nice, smooth yarn that's cheap enough that you don't have to worry about wasting some of it with mistakes. I highly recommend Bernat Super Value or Red Heart Super Saver (which does come in smaller quantities, I just can't find them online). If you look at the labels of both of these yarns, you'll see they say "Worsted 4." This means this yarn is "worsted" weight, or weight "4." Smaller numbers are thinner yarns, larger numbers are thicker yarns. I'll talk more about those in later posts, but for now a number 4 yarn is a nice middle ground that's fairly easy to work with. And one more thing: when you're just starting out, it's a good idea to use a light colored yarn. Dark yarns, such as black, dark brown, dark green, or dark blue, can sometimes be difficult to see individual stitches with and can be frustrating when you're still learning. 

Hooks

Crochet hooks are another reason I think crochet is better for beginners than knitting -- there are only a few different hooks you'd need to buy to make everything. I have a set of hooks that I bought over a decade ago for just ten dollars that covers almost everything I ever need. If you don't want to commit to the set, though, you can just buy one hook. In the US, at least, hooks are labeled with letters. The earlier letters in the alphabet are smaller diameter hooks, the later ones are larger diameter. For your first project, with a worsted weight yarn, I recommend buying an H hook, as it's a nice middle size that's easy to handle. This is in the set I linked above, or you can buy it on its own for a few dollars. When you go to buy hook, you'll find them in plastic, wood, and metal. I recommend the metal, but this is more personal preference than anything. I like metal because it's sturdy (my first set is still in perfect condition a decade later), it's smooth (yarn slides off it easily), and it's more child and dog proof than the other two -- I have had dogs eat my wooden crochet and knitting supplies, and my friends have had children break them. 

That's it! Those are the only two things you'll need to get started. If you want to get super fancy, you can also buy a yarn needle, which we can use when we're done with our projects, and stitch markers (although I just use paper clips because they're cheaper). Neither of these are mandatory, though, so once you have a hook and some yarn we're ready to begin!