Six Must-Haves For Crocheters

 

Good hooks – What’s your favorite hook – and why?  I have fallen in love with the newish Etimo Tulip Hooks.  They have really diminshed the amount of carpel tunnel pain I suffer.

Yarn/thread – I have rid myself of most of what I call mediocre yarn.  With thread, I use size 10 cotton almost exclusively.  Worsted weight cotton yarn has too much drag on it – does not slip smoothly enough on my hook – and taxes my wrist.  With yarn, I need there to be no drag across my wrist – no pulling or separating that requires extra effort.  That has ruled out a huge amount of my stash, some of which goes back to my beginning days as a crocheter about 15 years ago.  My newer requirements are that the yarn slide smoothly, effortlessly across my hook.  This is not necessarily a factor of price!  There are some really inexpensive yarns like Caron Simply Soft which fill the bill as well as many higher end yarns.

Tapestry needle – I prefer a blunt tipped, metal needle for weaving in all those dratted ends.

 

Scissors – Most any will do, but I have them all over the house!  The smallest ones, the folding variety, are the ones that earn their place in my crochet hook holder which goes everywhere my crochet goes.  Sharper is better.  One really good pair of scissors are Fiskars blunt point school scissors, the 5 inch long ones that usually sell for $1 during Back To School Sales in August.  Stock up!  They cut paper really well too.

Light source – Lacking natural light, I have invested in Ott Lites that have the ‘true color’ bulbs.  These are essential for me.  But, I still won’t crochet a project in all black or navy.

Reference book/patterns – What’s your favorite reference book and pattern source?  I find myself going back again and again to the Crochet Stitch Bible, mostly for its ease in use (spiral binding), size (maybe 6X8 inches), and clarity of instructions.  Patterns come from a huge variety of sources – books, magazines, free tear offs at the yarn shop, and, of course, all those wonderful free online pattern sources.  Lately, Ravelry.com has been my go-to source.

Have I forgotten any essential?  Oh, a comfortable chair to sit in while crocheting.