Sizes and Types of Crochet Hooks

If you’re just learning how to crochet, it's obvious you'd want to know about sizes and types of crochet hooks.

Until you've worked with crochet hooks for a while, you won’t know which you prefer better, that is why you should experiment and buy at least a couple of them.

Also, below you can find Crochet Hook Conversion Chart to help you out when you don't know which yarn to use with which hook size.

A crochet hook has a slender handle with a hook at one (or sometimes both) ends. It is used to pull thread or yarn through loops to create crochet stitches. Materials, sizes and handles can be very different. Each kind has its own benefits and disadvantages; it all depends on the comfort, price and the ease of use. A crochet hook can also be used to pick up dropped knitting stitches, thread beads onto string or create hairpin lace.

The crochet needles vary from small to larger sizes; each needle works with different weights of yarn. And just like with a knitting needle size, the size of the crochet hook will determine your gauge of the project.

It is recommended to have a hook size chart and a yarn weight chart when you are just starting to crochet. This way it'll be easier to tell what you’ll need for your projects.

Anatomy of a Crochet Hook

So, what does the main crochet tool consist of?

There are 5 most important parts of a crochet hook.
1. Handle. Your fingers will wrap around or rest on the handle of the crochet hook.
2. Grip or Thumb Rest. The grip is the ragged part of the crochet hook where your thumb rests.
3. Shaft. The shaft is the place where the yarn is wrapped around and held while working your crochet stitches.
4. Throat (the inner part of the hook). The throat hooks and catches the yarn as it slides into your stitch. It can be either inline or tapered (about these two types you can read down below).
5. Head, or tip, or point (the point of the hook). The tip or head of the hook is what is inserted into your crochet stitch.

This is a brief explanation of the hook anatomy, and it will be explained in more details in future posts.

Inline or tapered hook throats

Let's talk about two types of hook throats.

There are inline and tapered crochet hooks.

Inline hook (also known as straight hook) has a deeper hook and the thumb grip is higher up. Some crocheters feel that the shape of this hook helps with contributing to more consistent tension, but because of the deeper throat some feel it causes more fatigue in the wrists. Inline hook also allows to make uniform stitch size more easily.

Tapered hook looks more smooth and has a thumb grip lower down. It is often suggested that with a tapered hook it's easier to get the pointy head through stitches, it contributes to faster crocheting, and creates less stress to wrists. It is advised to use a tapered hook when working with a finer weight yarn. But tapered head can lead to stitches being pulled too tight and it is less easy to control when pulling off a loop.

Both types are presented in most materials. Typically, a tapered hook is easier for a beginner to use, because the yarn doesn't slip off your hook as easily. But in the end, it all comes down to your personal preference, so experiment with both types of crochet hooks to figure out what works best for you.

Now let's talk about materials.

Types of Crochet Hooks

There are different types of materials crochet hooks made of.

Aluminum crochet hooks have a smooth surface and allow you to crochet quickly, as the surface makes it easy to slide stitches on and off the hook. They're available in a large range of sizes. It's one of the most popular types of hooks beginners prefer to use at first. Their price is low and you can find them basically everywhere online and in any craft shop.

Plastic hooks also can be found in most places, are very affordable, quite durable and come in all sizes. Often they come in amusing colors and have a good grip. Usually made of hollow plastic so that the hook would be light in its weight. Fairly slippery and perfect for travel. Sometimes, though, they have ridges where the seam of the plastic mold comes together and can snap if used with heavy yarn or a tight tension. If you happen to have ridges on the seam of your hook, just file it off with a nail file.

Wooden crochet hooks are made of wood such as bamboo or a composite of dyed wood. They are soft, warm in feel and lightweight, but a bit slower to slide than aluminum hooks. That's why they are a great choice when working with more slippery yarns (non-organic fibers like acrylic); they add some additional grip to keep the yarn from sliding too fast. They have a comfortable hold and generally just feel nice in the hand. The only disadvantage is that they come only in middle and bigger sizes, so you won't find any jumbo or tiny hook.

Tunisian crochet hooks are longer than regular hooks and quite often have a hook on each end. A crochet hook with a hook on both its ends is called a cro hook. Tunisian crochet is a crossover between knitting and crochet, and also called afghan crochet. Tunisian fabric looks different from standard crochet, and a little like knitting. And just like a knitting needle, you keep your stitches on a tunisian crochet hook as you create the fabric. Tunisian crochet opens up completely different possibilities to the activity of crochet, so it's highly advisable to try it out.

Steel hooks come only in smallest sizes. They are used for detail work and lacework and often applied in fine thread crochet such as in doilies. For this reason, steel crochet hook sizes most often are small. They are comfortable to use for small work and are easy to hold onto.

Knook is a special tool and a long crochet hook with a hole running through one end. By inserting your yarn through the hole, you can form knit-like stitches, which is great for mimicking knit fabrics.

Ergonomic crochet hooks have larger soft handles or handles you can insert a regular hook into. They are recommended for people with Arthritis and other hand conditions. They are designed to reduce the strain in hands as you grip a small hook for an extended period of time. But you don't have to have a hand condition to use these, so these hooks are a good preventative measure to take and to care for your hands. There are also stress relief gloves that can also help to ease hand soreness or pain.

Light up, or lighted, crochet hooks are great if you work late at night or have a hard time seeing, and a nice option for traveling. Lighted hooks have little lights installed in the hook, so it makes the hook glow. It’s easier to see and work with this added light, because it partly relieves your eyes from stress.

There are also different variations of glass hooks and clay hooks.

Sizes of Crochet Hooks

Okay, so now we can go to the topic of crochet hook sizes.

There are different types of measurements. Sizes can be measured in letters (U.S), millimeters (metric) and numbers (U.K.).

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. It is the shaft which determines how large your stitches will be.

If you want your crocheted fabric to have an open airy weave, choose a larger hook. If you want your fabric to be dense with minimal holes (like with amigurumi) choose a smaller hook.

Crochet hooks made and sold in the USA use a lettering system for their sizes. As the letter gets further into the alphabet, the hook gets larger. These sizes vary from the 2.25 mm size B to the 16 mm size Q.

For beginners, the most standard size hook is an H-8 5.00mm (H (letter) 8 (number) 5.00mm (metric)). Almost every beginner set has this hook size.

The bad news about the lettering system of hook sizes is that each bran has its own measurements. So if you see in a pattern hook size D, but you use a size D from a different crochet brand, your pattern could turn out wrong. To avoid this, you should rely on metric measurements, as it is based on an actual form of measurement. You can guarantee your patterns will turn out properly, if you use the metric measurement system for the hook size.

For better illustration, below you can see how each measurement style works and see how US, UK and Metric measurements sizes correlate.

Crochet Hook Conversion Chart

Steel hooks come in numbered sizes that get larger as the number gets smaller. The sizes vary from the 0.6 mm thickness of the size 14 to the 3 mm thickness of the size 00.

How to Choose the Right Size Hook

Each yarn label usually has a recommendation for what hook size to use with that particular yarn, and an estimated number of stitches per 4 inches (gauge swatch). Measure your stitches after you crocheted a sample (gauge square) with the stitch pattern you are going to use for your project, washed and dried your yarn. Depending on if you crochet loosely or tightly, you may need to make another piece of a sample again with a larger or smaller size hook.

If you want to know more about gauge square, the post about it will be published soon. Each yarn weight has a hook size that pairs perfectly with one another. When you'll get more experience, you can start to mix yarn weight and hook size, but when you are only starting out -- best to stick with the yarn weight the pattern and hook size called for.

Here is a helpful chart, which tells you the recommended hook size for each weight of yarn, and an approximate number of stitches per 4 inches in a single crochet.
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This is it!
Hopefully, now you know more about crochet hooks and feel more comfortable exploring your options~
Stay tuned!