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Sunday, January 9, 2011

Beginner's Best Friend: How To Hold A Crochet Hook

Is one of your new year's resolutions to learn to crochet? Maybe you've always admired you're grandmother's gorgeous afghans, or maybe you have a friend who's inspired you by crocheting some cute hats. Whether you're looking for something to do with your hands or you just want to pick up a new skill, this you've come to the right place! I'm starting a new series for new beginning crocheters called "Beginner's Best Friend", with both photo and video tutorials (because I know personally that sometimes the best way to learn something is to watch someone else doing it).  So, with that in mind...lets get started!

How To Hold A Crochet Hook

For those just learning to crochet, the hardest part is getting used to holding the crochet hook and the yarn. The crochet hook is held like a pencil, between your forefinger, your middle finger, and your thumb, as shown.

The yarn is held in your left hand. As shown below, the tail of the yarn is held between your thumb and middle finger, and the tension of the yarn is held with your forefinger.


Although the above is the correct way to hold your yarn, I learned to crochet by instead using my middle finger to hold the tension. Even though this is technically not correct, you can also crochet this way, though I encourage newbies to try it the correct way. However, in my tutorial videos, you may frequently notice that I hold my work as shown below.

For those of you who are left- handed, its debatable as to whether you should crochet left handed. As you become more advanced, you will stumble upon patterns that may trip you up if you crochet left handed. It wouldn't be a bad idea to go ahead and learn to crochet right handed, since this will make life easier for you in the long run. However, my younger sister is left handed and hasn't had much trouble, so its completely up to you!

Any questions? Please comment!

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