How To Hold A Crochet Hook
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So you’ve watched a few crochet tutorials and have maybe seen crocheters holding their hooks in a few different ways, right? Well, the good news is. . .neither is wrong! In this tutorial we are going to learn how to hold a crochet hook in your right hand.
How To Hold A Crochet Hook – Two Ways
Why are there two different ways to hold a crochet hook? Good question! I think this stumps a lot of people, and they tend to get hung up on reaching perfection with how they hold their hook and yarn.
Let’s start with a story.
My mom NEVER liked the way I held my pencil. “That’s not how you hold it,” she’d say. “You’re going to end up with blisters from holding it like that.” She wasn’t wrong. But, I held my pencil with it resting on the ring finger of my left-hand, rather than the middle finger. Part of me probably never corrected it because I knew it drove her crazy (I was a bit stubborn), but it worked for me.
And that’s the moral of this story. . .choose the method that feels the most comfortable and works for you.
The Knife Method
The knife method of holding your crochet hook is to hold it like you are cutting something. So, index finger down and straight, shaft of hook beneath your palm.
This is the method that I use and I will admit that if you don’t have grip covers on your hooks, if you crochet for a long time the end of the aluminum will probably start rubbing on your hand and become uncomfortable. I hold mine like this because I feel like it gives me the greatest amount of control over the hook. I tend to have a tighter tension, and when I do crochet tight (especially while I was first learning), it allows me to help stick it into the chain it needs to go into better.
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The Pencil Method
The pencil method is pretty self-descriptive–you hold your crochet hook like you’d hold a pencil. Well, clearly not like I’d hold a pencil (see above), but like a normal person (apparently) holds a pencil.
For this method you pinch the hook between your thumb and index finger, and rest it on your middle finger, like you would that of a pencil.
Which way do you hold your crochet hook?
I definitely agree with your advice – hold it the way you are most
comfortable. Been crocheting for over 60+ years and have
tried a number of times to change the way I hold mine but
always go back to the first way. You want to be able to
enjoy your work so don’t fret over what looks good or correct…
I don’t think there is a ‘correct’ way, just a way that works.